Fools in Love
by CJ.T
Summary: “Oh my god” she closed her eyes, willing her heart to stop beating so fast.What had she been thinking? How could she be so stupid? She had been seconds away from doing the dirty with Josh Lyman! First story in a CJ/Josh series.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi all, so this is my first West Wing story and I would appreciate any feedback you have for me, whether it's good, bad or whatever. I'd like to get better at this and any comments will help me a lot. **

**Spoilers - Set during season one. **

**Warning - adult situations!**

**Rating - M**

**Authors note - So this is a CJ/Josh story because they are my guilty pleasure, so if you don't like them together then I suggest you turn back.**

**I hope you enjoy it. **

**Calliope Jae x**

**Disclaimer - I'm only responsible for the smut... :P**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 1 - Goldfish and doors**

"Goldfish?" Joshua Lyman looked up from behind his desk to see CJ Cregg standing in his doorway. "You told Danny Concanon that I like goldfish?" She asked him smiling as she leaned against the door frame. Josh shrugged and returned her smile.

"Well yeah. I told him you couldn't get enough of them" He pushed his chair back slightly and put his feet up onto his desk. CJ walked into his office after shutting the door and sat down in front of his desk.

"He thought you were talking about actual fish Josh, not the crackers" She watched as he tried to hold back a smile only to fail as he let out a full laugh. She laughed along with him.

"I was trying to help a fellow man woo his lady" CJ raised her eyebrows at his comment.

"You were helping him to 'woo' me?" She asked.

"Well yeah, he likes you CJ" He said smiling at her. CJ shook her head and laughed.

"Well he may like me Josh but you know it's never gonna happen" She picks up a pen from his desk and plays with it.

"Yeah I know" He stood up and moved around his desk to stand in front of CJ, he leaned against the edge of his desk and folded his arms across his chest. "So what did he do with my invaluable information?"

"He bought me a goldfish" She replied with a smile on her face. Josh nudged her leg with his.

"He bought you a fish? Next it will be marriage and a baby" He put on a dreamy voice "It's so romantic!" He laughed at his own joke and received a gentle slap on his arm from CJ. "What did he get in return?" He asked in a flirty tone. CJ shook her head at him and laughed a little.

"Josh!" She looked up at him from her seat, his expression full of mischief. She always found it difficult to keep things from this man. "A kiss on the cheek" Josh laughed.

"You really went all out on that one Claudia Jean" He moved to the chair next to CJ and sat down, taking the pen from her hands and placing it back on his desk.

"Are you jealous?" She asked in a sultry tone. Josh smiled at her.

"So what if I was?" CJ laughed and took hold of his hand. Josh watched her face as she stared intently at their hands. Josh shivered slight as she gently stroked his fingers with her other hand.

"All you have to do is ask Josh" She looked up into his eyes. Josh thought she might have been joking until he saw the lust in her eyes and he felt sure that she saw it reflected in his. Suddenly there was a knock on his door and Donna stuck her head in. Josh expected CJ to drop his hand but she didn't. She turned to Donna and smiled.

"Hey Donna"

"Hey CJ" Donna smiled at them both. "Sorry to interrupt but Carol's looking for you, something about Toby. I think it's important"

"Thanks Donna, I'll be right there" She said. Donna nodded and shut the door again. CJ turned to Josh who had been looking at her the whole time Donna was here. CJ smiled at him a little shyly, Josh reached up with his free hand and touched her face. "I have to go" She said to him.

"Yeah" neither of them moved. Suddenly CJ started to laugh and Josh started to panic. What was going on?

"Josh either ask me to kiss you or just do it yourself" That wasn't what he expected. He just stared at her, trying to will himself to kiss her. Why couldn't he move? CJ smiled and looked away, she let go of his hand and stood up. "You missed out Josh, I've been told I'm a really good kisser" CJ thought she had misread the emotion in his eyes and tried to make light of the situation. Just as she reached for the door that connected their offices he grabbed her arm. She turned to look at him and just as she was about to tell him that he didn't need to say anything he covered her lips with his.

CJ froze for a second before she opened her lips to him. One of Josh's hands came up to rest at the base of her neck as the other circled around her waist. He deepened the kiss as he pulled her closer, CJ's hands moved to grasp Josh's biceps. She moaned her pleasure as he pushed her up against the door, his hand moving into her hair. He pulled away from her and looked at her flushed face, waiting for her to open her eyes. She smiled and slowly opened her eyes to find him staring at her.

"Josh" She sighed and pressed her body into his. Josh pushed her harder against the door and he kissed her again. CJ pawed at his body and Josh pushed one of his legs between hers which she willing parted for him. His hands began to explore the body pressed against him, one reaching down to squeeze her ass while the other caressed her breast. CJ moaned into his mouth as he played with her nipple through her shirt. She ignored the warning sirens going though her head as she let her own hands wander over his body. She could feel his erection pushing into her stomach and she felt a sudden warmth pool between her legs. Josh's hands started to pull at her skirt and he felt himself harden even more than he thought possible as he realised she had worn thigh high stocking today. His fingers played with the lacy tops until he felt her grinding her hips into his, silently asking for more. Thoughts that they shouldn't be doing this rushed through Josh's head, he knew he should stop, that he should release her from his hold but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He liked the way she felt in his arms, the way she smelt and tasted. CJ lifted her legs around his hips as Josh lifted her slightly off the ground. He stopped kissing her and re-focused his attention on her neck. Kissing and nipping at the delicate skin there. He pushed his erection into her and wished they didn't haveso many clothes on. Josh sucked at a sensitive spot on her neck as one of his hands reached between them and lightly traced the edge of her panties. He growled when he felt her heat and almost came when he pushed his fingers into her wet centre. He was gentle with her, teasing her folds and avoided her clit wanting to prolong this moment. CJ groaned her frustration and placed one of her legs on the ground. She ground into him wanting more.

"Josh, please" She begged into his ear, pulling his lobe into her mouth, teasing him with her teeth. "Please Josh, I need… oh!" Josh pushed two fingers deeper inside her and rubbed her clit with his thumb. He pumped his fingers inside her, kissing her roughly, getting faster and harder. CJwas moving against him and he watched her face. He wanted to remember this, her slightly open mouth and closed eyes. Her flushed face and kiss swollen lips. He could feel her inner walls start to tremble around his fingers, he knew she was close. He went back to nipping her neck as he rubbed her sensitive nub harder. "Oh… Josh… Oh god…" He felt her body tense and her walls contract around him, he looked up to her face as her head rocked back against the door. "Josh!" She came hard into his hand and it shook her whole body. She was breathing heavily and when she opened her eyes to look at her friend she noticed he was smiling.

"God CJ, you're beautiful" He whispered and if she hadn't been so close to him she might have missed it. They stayed there for a moment, both looking into each others eyes. "Josh… take off your pants" He laughed a little at her bluntness and when he didn't move quick enough CJ pulled at his belt and started to pull down his zipper. Just as Josh had started to unbutton her shirt there was a knock at his door. Donna. She started to open the door without waiting for a reply and they jumped apart. Josh pushed hard against the door stopping Donna from coming in and CJ quickly slipped into her own office pulling the door closed behind her. Josh stood with his hand on the door for awhile.

"Josh?" Donna called from the other side. "Josh, Leo wants to see you in his office" She tried the handle again but he still didn't let her in. "Josh what are you…" She started to ask but he cut her off.

"Yeah I'll be right out Donna" He quickly did up his pants and re-adjusted his clothing. It suddenly hit him as he realised how close he had come to having sex with one of his closest friends in his office. How could he be so stupid! Yeah sure, he'd always had a thing for CJ but he never thought it possible that he would find himself in this situation. Shaking these thoughts from his mind he vowed to seek out the press secretary before the end of the day. They had some things to discuss. Smoothing down his hair he grabbed some files off his desk and took a few breaths before opening the door. Ignoring Donna's questioning stare he walked to Leo's office.

-x-

CJ's Office

CJ quickly closed the door behind her and leaned against it. "Oh my god" she closed her eyes and willed her heart to stop beating so fast. "Oh my god" She brought her hands up to cover her face. What had she been thinking? How could she be so stupid? She had just been seconds away from having sex with Josh Lyman in his office. In the White House! She shook her head in disbelief and pushed away from the door, she started rearranging her underwear as Carol walked into her office.

"Boss, Toby asked me to…" Carol looked at her boss and her mouth fell open. "CJ what happened to…" CJ pulled her skirt down quickly and started to fasten the buttons of her shirt. She glared at Carol.

"Shut the door" It came out sharp and Carol did as she asked without question.

"Are you ok? God CJ your neck is really red and it looks bruised" Carol tooka few steps towards her fully taking in the other woman's appearance. "Why are you…?" She stopped talking as realisation washed over her. "Oh my god, CJ…"

"Just don't Carol, don't…" CJ sighed heavily. How could she be so foolish? "Please don't breathe a word of this…" Carol shook her head.

"CJ you don't need to say that. I won't say anything" CJ looked at her assistant and forced herself to calm down.

"I know. I'm sorry Carol, I just…" Carol stopped her. She knew her boss was a private person and she knew that if CJ told her anything personal that she would regret it later, so Carol interrupted her words.

"You have a polar neck sweater out here that you can wear and it will cover up the marks so you won't get any questions. And I'll bring my mirror in for you" Carol turned on the spot and headed out to her office. CJ flopped down in one of the chairs in front of her desk. She lowered her head into her hands and she couldn't help but think of Josh. Of his hands and his mouth and what they were seconds away from doing. Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard Toby's voice outside the door.

"Is she in?" He asked Carol.

"Yeah but she's changing, she spilt something on her shirt" CJ sent a prayer of thanks to who ever it was that had sent her Carol.

"Ok, have her stop by my office when she's done" He said.

"Sure" Carol waited for him to walk away then slipped back into CJ's office with the sweater and mirror. She handed them to CJ and headed back to her office.

"Carol?" Carol turned to look at her boss, her features had softened and she wore a small smile. "Thank you" Carol smiled back at her.

"I've always got your back Boss" She said as she stepped out the door.

"Yes you have" She whispered to the empty room. Thinking for the millionth time how she would be lost without her assistant to get her through the day. She quickly changed her top and re-applied her make-up. And after running a brush through her hair returned the mirror to Carol. As CJpassed her assistant on her way over to Toby's office she gently squeezed her shoulder as one final silent thank you. Carol laughed a little to herself. She'd give anything to know who it was that had rattled her boss's cage.

* * *

**Please leave a review or pm me, all comments are greatly appreciated! xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi all!**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I hope you enjoyed the first chapter too. Please remember to leave a review at the end, I have a lot of improving to do and I need your help to do so.**

**Calliope Jae x**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Clumsy Thoughts**

Josh walked out of Leo's office and headed towards his own. His thoughts immediately went to CJ and the events of the evening. During his meeting with Leo he had brushed his hand over his face and he could smell her musk on his fingers. He'd paused mid-sentence thinking of the way her face had lit up when he pushed his digits deep inside her, the way her cheeks had flushed and… Leo had pulled him from his memories and Josh clumsily covered his misstep, muttering something about a 'thing' he had just remembered and forgotten to do. He skilfully dodged Leo's questions and practically ran from the room when he was dismissed.

Josh walked slowly through the lobby finally allowing his thoughts to drift to CJ. He needed to see her and he wanted to talk to her. He wasn't quite sure what he wanted to say to her but he just needed to talk to her, to hear her voice and ask her if she was ok. He stopped walking and looked at his surroundings lifting his eyes to the closed door his feet had brought him to. CJ's door.

"You need something Josh?" Carol came walking out of her office when she saw him standing there.

"What?" She had jolted him from his thoughts.

"I said is there something you need?" She studied him, he seemed a million miles away.

"No" He said quickly. "No, I just…" he paused. "Is she in there?" He asked Carol never taking his eyes from the door.

"No she's not" Carol paused watching his face as he grimaced and started to walk away. "Josh, she's in Toby's office" He spun around on the spot and walked back to her.

"Toby's office?" He repeated. Carol smirked.

"Yeah"

"Thanks Carol" Josh walked quickly away from her and Carol went back to her work, thinking of Josh's unusual behaviour a moment ago.

Josh quickly made his way through the bullpen, passing Donna.

"Josh, does …" He didn't stop walking as she started to talk to him and Donna nearly dropped the files he pushed into her hands as he continued on.

"Not right now Donna" he threw back over his shoulder.

Once in the Lobby Josh ran the short distance to the communications bullpen and skidded to a walk as he passed through the doors. He glanced into Toby's office through the windows and saw CJ sitting on the sofa. She was scribbling furiously on her notepad as Toby talked. Josh shifted his weight from foot to foot and rubbed the back of his head with his hand, unsure of what he was doing there.

"Hey Josh" Bonnie walked past him with two cups of coffee in hand and entered Toby's office setting one cup down in front of each occupant. She walked back out into the bullpen and stopped at her desk looking over at Josh. "You after something?" She asked him. He shook his head still shuffling around on the spot.

"No thanks Bonnie" He couldn't take his eyes away from the back of CJ's head.

"You can go in if you want. They're just going over some notes before CJ gives her last briefing"

Josh hung out in the bullpen for a couple of seconds before making himself go into Toby's office. As he stepped in, Toby nodded his head to him to indicate that it was ok. Josh briefly returned the nod before focusing his attention on the woman in front of him. CJ was sitting with one leg crossed over the other and was bringing the cup of coffee to her lips. Just as she was about to take a sip she glanced up at the doorway to see who it was. Josh. She jumped, caught off guard at his sudden appearance, and spilt the hot liquid onto her notepad and into her lap.

"Oh crap!" she shouted and jumped up letting her notepad fall to the floor. Josh watched with amusement, it appeared he wasn't the only one unhinged by today's events.

"Spilt your coffee there CJ" Toby said mirthlessly. CJ put down the cup she was holding and pulled at the hot material of her skirt to keep it off her legs.

"Yeah" she practically barked at him.

"You're meant to, you know, drink it not…" Toby continued talking in the same tone but when CJ looked at him she could see the amusement in his eyes. She interrupted him before he could continue.

"Yeah Toby I got it" She threw her arms in air letting the cooling material stick to her legs and let out a big sigh. This was really what she needed right now, she picked up the sopping paper and looked back to Toby "I can call a lid after this then?"

"Yeah" Toby could no longer contain the smile his eyes had betrayed. CJ gave him one of her looks which only served to increase his smile and turned to leave. She stopped when she saw Josh still standing at the door, she'd almost forgot he was there. CJ ducked her head a little and slipped past him, clinging to the door frame to avoid touching him. Once in the bullpen CJ let out a breath she didn't realise she'd taken. She stole a quick glance at Josh before walking briskly back to her office. Josh muttered something she couldn't hear to Toby and followed her out. What was he doing? She didn't slow down or acknowledge him until he grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"CJ?" He started but he still didn't know what he wanted to say to her. She looked into his eyes and tugged her arm from his grasp.

"I need to brief the press" She headed to her office again and this time Josh didn't follow. Once she reached her office CJ passed her notes to Carol so she could type it up for her.

"What happened to this?" She asked, taking the soggy pages.

"Oh nothing, I just spilt my coffee" Carol went to start typing up the notes and CJ grabbed some tissues from her desk and dabbed at the wet patches on her skirt. "Can you see this?" She asked her assistant when she came back in a while later.

"See what?" She asked looking at CJ's legs.

"Good" She pressed the tissue onto the material one last time before throwing it in the trash. Carol placed the notes along with some others into CJ's notebook and handed them to her. CJ and Carol headed for the press room and Josh took advantage of her empty office and snuck inside. He looked around the dimly lit room and settled himself down in the chair beside the main door. He waited patiently for the woman he was currently watching on the TV monitor. He was observing her carefully on the screen, watching the curve of her mouth as she joked with the reporters, her perfect hands as she brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. Josh was mesmerised by her, so much so that he didn't realise that she had wrapped up the briefing until she walked away from the podium. He stared at the empty screen for a while trying to organise his thoughts and plan what he was going to say to her.

"You sure you still want to run home?" Josh could hear Carol talking to CJ as they walked back to their offices.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I had any sort of exercise. It'll do me good"

"Ok, well you'll need this" Josh peeked around the door at the two women but remained un-noticed as Carol passed CJ's gym bag to her.

"Thanks Carol, you should get out of here while you can" CJ smiled at her assistant and turned to walk into her office.

"Night boss"

"Night" CJ closed the door to her office and walked straight over to the many TV's. She leant against her desk as she placed her bag on top of it and observed what was on each one. Josh sat silently behind her, feeling a little awkward. He didn't want to scare her but he felt like a creep just sitting there. He was just about to say something to make her aware of his presence when she gripped the hem of her top and started to pull it up her body. The words died instantly on the end of his tongue and his mouth went dry. He watched her pull the woolly material of her sweater up over her head and he fought the urge to rush to her and run his hands over the exposed skin. She appeared to glow in the glare of the TVs and he thought she looked beautiful. Josh shook his head as she started to unzip her skirt, he didn't want to stop her but he needed to. Say something funny!

"I think I should have brought some dollar bills" It wasn't quite what he had in mind but it would have to do. CJ spun around to face him, surprise written on her face.

"Oh…Josh!" She brought her hands up to her heart. Looking down at herself she suddenly remembered her state of undress and picked up her sweater. She covered her front before addressing Josh. "What are you doing?"

"I…" He looked at her apologetically. "I wanted to talk to you" CJ laughed a little.

"Well that's nice but I have to change so could you please leave" She turned away from him and Josh took his time examining her back and the lacy bra she wore. CJ rummaged through her bag to find a tank top and pulled it on. She turned back to look at Josh to see that he had risen from his place by the door and had moved to stand in front of her.

"CJ, first I think we need to talk about what happened today" He looked into her eyes and she looked right back into his.

"Ok"

"I mean we can't just ignore it and… wait, what?" Josh's mind was reeling. What did she just say?

"I said ok" CJ moved to sit on her sofa.

"But… really?" Josh was rooted to the spot. CJ laughed loudly and he felt his stomach flutter at the sound, he'd always loved her laugh. She patted the spot next to her on the sofa, indicating he join her. Still he made no move.

"We almost performed the horizontal mambo against your door Josh, so yeah I think we should, you know, talk!" She gave up on him sitting next to her and reclined against the plush cushions.

"Well I just… I thought that…" He didn't really know what he wanted to say. He slowly moved to stand in front of her. "You've been off and so I thought that meant you didn't want to talk about it"

"Of course I've been off Josh, you blew my mind away and I told you to take off your pants. How did you expect me to…"

"I blew your mind away?" he interrupted her and when she looked at his face she saw a cocky grin grace his features.

"Josh…" she said warningly. She took hold of his suit jacket and pulled, he finally took the hint and sat next down to her.

"I know" He took hold of her hand, just like she had done to him earlier. "I was just teasing you" He winked at her and she smiled coyly in return.

"Well I've had my fill of that today" CJ was looking down at their hands but Josh knew that if he could see her eyes that they would have a mischievous glint to them.

"Now who's teasing?" He squeezed her hand and nudged her shoulder, bring his head close to hers. "Seriously though CJ, what… what the hell happened today?" he asked quietly. CJ paused a while before answering.

"I have no idea" Josh watches her features light up gloriously at the memories she was having. "But it was really good"

"It was that" Josh nodded as he too thought of the days events. He was brought back when he felt CJ shift in her seat. She had turned fully to face him, their knees touched and she placed her other hand on top of their clasped ones.

"Listen Josh, you're one of my closest friends and I don't want anything to change that…" She paused unsure of how to phrase her next sentence. Josh held his breath, was she going to suggest trying to have a relationship? Was that what was going on here.

"You know nothing would change our friendship Ceej" Josh shifted closer to her trying to reassure her of any doubts, he didn't want her to change her mind. CJ smiled and looked intently into his eyes.

"I know and so I think it would be best if we could just…" She paused again and took a deep breath.

"Take it slow" Josh finished just as CJ said "End it here" They both stopped talking.

"What?" CJ managed to say after what felt like an eternity of silence.

"Nothing" Josh felt a blush creep up his neck. Of course she didn't want to be with him, what was he thinking? He felt like his heart had dropped down into the pit of his stomach.

"Did you just…" CJ was stunned, she had no idea he'd want to pursue this.

"No it was nothing" He moved away from CJ, letting her hands drop away from his. "You were saying?" He asked her as he stood up and walked over to her desk. CJ stood too and hovered behind him, wringing her hands nervously. She needed to fix this.

"It's just I don't think it would be a good idea to start anything right now… and I'm not saying that it would have been, I mean I'm not… and with our jobs? This could cause trouble for our friends and… am I making any sense?" When he didn't reply straight away she moved towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He quickly shrugged it away as if contact with her was suddenly dirty. He turned to face her but he wouldn't look her in the eye. CJ felt her chest tighten, she was crying inside.

"Yeah, no of course, I mean your right about… well you know… and I mean…" He stuttered and moved away from her, he looked panicked and lost and CJ just wanted to hold him in her arms. She had caused this.

"Josh?" She tried to take hold of his hand but he backed away from her. She could feel her heart breaking inside her chest and Josh could feel his breaking too.

""I'm gonna head home ok? I'll see you tomorrow" His voice broke and he cursed himself for caring this much. He rushed through their connecting door and grabbed his coat, she stood in her office and watched him stuff some files into his back pack. CJ stepped tentatively into his office and Josh pretended not to notice her standing there.

"Josh… I'm sorry if I…" She reached out for him once more but again he backed away.

"I'll see you tomorrow CJ" He rushed out the door leaving CJ standing next to his desk. She had done this, she had hurt him and she had hurt them both by trying to do the right thing. She felt tears run down her cheeks and she angrily brushed them away. How could she have missed something like this? Was she really so blind? As she made her way back to her office she wrapped her arms over her chest trying to null the dull pain there. She sat down behind her desk, rested her head on the back of her chair and closed her eyes. She heard some one knock on the door.

"Go away" She sighed when the door opened anyway and she tightened her arms around herself. She knew who it was without even opening her eyes to look. "I said go away"

"What's going on?" Toby sat down in one of the chairs in front of her desk.

"Nothing" She replied, eyes still closed. Toby paused for a while and took in her appearance.

"You've been crying" It wasn't a question he could tell she had been.

"Toby, will you just leave it?" She said angrily, her eyes flying open allowing more tears to flow down her cheeks. Toby gave her a minute to calm down, after all the years of knowing her he had become a master at reading her moods. "I'm sorry Toby"

"What happened?" He asked quietly, waiting patiently for her to respond.

"It was nothing, just a stupid misunderstanding that I made worse because that seems to be what I do best" She sniffled a little and ran a hand through her hair. "I think I just…"

"It's a guy?" He asked her leaning back in his chair. CJ rolled her eyes at him, how was he always able to read her so easily!

"Yes"

"I didn't know you seeing were seeing anyone"

"I'm not" She sighed and rested her back against her chair. "It's complicated"

"Do you like him?" CJ laughed a little, he always asked her the same thing when she was involved with someone.

"I think…" She paused. She did like Josh, in fact she had always liked him a little more than a friend should. But should she tell Toby that? Should she tell Josh that? "Like I said Toby it's complicated"

"It's not if you like him" He rubbed a hand over his beard and watched her for a reaction. She smiled at him and shook her head.

"If it were that simple I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you about this" She stood up from her chair and grabbed her gym bag. "So I'm running it out" She pulled the rest of her clothes out of the bag.

"So I'm leaving?"

"Yup"

"Ok" He stood up and turned to face her. "You don't want to talk about it?"

"Nope, not really" She walked with him to her door. "I'm running it out. I'll be fine"

"Ok" He squeezed her hand. "Go see him. If you like him, go see him and tell him" He added quietly as he walked through the door. CJ nodded.

"Thanks Toby" She closed the door once he left, changed into her running gear and wrapped herself up before heading out into the cold. Settling into a steady running pace helped CJ clear her mind and think about her conversation with Josh. She didn't know if she wanted a relationship with Josh but she found the more she thought about it the more she warmed up to the idea. Toby had told her to go see him, perhaps she would.

-x-

**Josh's apartment**

Josh was sitting at his table in his boxers and a baggy t-shirt, reading through a number of files. He rubbed both hands through his hair, making it look fluffy, and tried to re-focus on the papers in front of him. He couldn't seem to get her out of his thoughts. All night, all he had been thinking about was CJ and no matter how hard he tried to banish her from his mind she just kept creeping back in. Josh reached for his beer, took a big gulp and placed it back down. He glanced at his watch and realised it was almost midnight, feeling he should be heading to bed soon he reached for his beer again to finish it just as there was a knocking at his door. Josh towards it, making him miss the beer and knock it over. "Crap" He picked up the bottle. There was another knock at the door.

"Just a second" He called out as he quickly moved the files out of the way of the fast moving liquid. He ran to the kitchen and grabbed a towel to mop up the mess. The knock came again. "In a second!" He shouted as he cleaned. Making sure none of the files had been ruined by the beer he placed them on the chair he had been sitting on and ran to the door. Hearing the knock again he forcefully pulled the door open.

"What!" He barked at whoever was standing there. He paused giving himself a second to regroup. CJ. She stood looking at him shyly.

"Hey Josh"

* * *

**Hope you liked it...**

**Please leave a review or pm me, all comments are greatly appreciated! xxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Please, please leave a review, I'd like to know what everyone thinks as I have other ideas to make this story the beginning of a series.**

**Anyway happy reading…**

**Calliope Jae x**

* * *

**Chapter 3: You have to want it**

Josh was sitting at his table in his boxers and a baggy t-shirt, reading through a number of files. He rubbed both hands through his hair, making it look fluffy, and tried to re-focus on the papers in front of him. He couldn't seem to get her out of his thoughts. All night, all he had been thinking about was CJ and no matter how hard he tried to banish her from his mind she just kept creeping back in. Josh reached for his beer, took a big gulp and placed it back down. He glanced at his watch and realised it was almost midnight, feeling he should be heading to bed soon he reached for his beer again to finish it just as there was a knock at his door. Josh looked towards the source of the sound, making him miss the beer and knocking it over. "Crap" He picked up the bottle. There was another knock at the door.

"Just a second" He called out as he quickly moved the files out of the way of the fast moving liquid. He ran to the kitchen and grabbed a towel to mop up the mess. The knock came again. "In a second!" He shouted as he cleaned. Making sure none of the files had been ruined by the beer he placed them on the chair he had been sitting on and ran to the door. Hearing the knock again he forcefully pulled it open.

"What!" He barked. He paused giving himself a second to regroup. CJ. She stood looking at him shyly.

"Hey Josh" He just stared at her for a while and then his eyes strolled down her body. She wore an old pair of jeans that had holes everywhere and a brown leather jacket that hugged her body. She looked good.

"What?" He finally asked, thinking he might have missed something. CJ smiled at him.

"I said hi"

"Hi" He still stood in the doorway looking at her.

"Can I come in?" She started to feel a little self-conscious under his gaze.

"Sure" Josh stepped back to allow her entry then closed the door. "Sorry I was just a little…"

"Surprised" CJ finished for him. Josh laughed and walked over to his table to finish cleaning it.

"Yeah" He said quietly. CJ stood in the centre of the room and watched him busy about the place. Once he had finished he turned around to face her, the room filled with an awkward silence and Josh avoided her eyes. It was CJ who spoke first.

"Josh I came over because I…" Josh held up his hands to stop her.

"If you're here to apologise CJ you don't have to. I've thought about it and I agree with everything you said tonight. We should just end it here. Just friends"

"Is that what you want?" CJ asked quietly, she was still standing in the centre of the room observing him. Josh wanted to scream at her, of course it wasn't what he wanted. He wanted her, he just hadn't realised how much until today.

"It's what you want isn't it?" He tried to swallow his anger and frustration when he spoke but CJ could hear it in his voice.

"I didn't say that" She told him. Josh's head snapped up to look at her and his eyes found hers.

"You didn't?"

"No" CJ smiled at him and he felt his stomach flutter when he saw it.

"But you said…" Josh stopped talking when she rushed over to him and took hold of both of his hands.

"I know what I said Josh and I'm sticking by it. This would cause a lot of trouble for our friends and it's going to make our jobs difficult. You technically out rank me and god only knows how much mess that could cause. Sometimes in order for me to do my job you have to keep secrets from me which I don't think is healthy in a relationship. And there are so many other reasons Josh why we shouldn't be in any sort of relationship, our reputations, the administration, the press would be uncontrollable if they caught wind of this, and do you have any idea what this could do to the President?" She cups his face with her hands, making him look her in the eye. "But even with that all said, it doesn't mean that we can't try it" Josh stared at her dumbfounded. Did she really just say that?

"What?" He asked after sometime. CJ laid her hands flat on his chest.

"I've had some time to think this over and I believe we can do anything we want Josh if we really put our minds to it. If we really want to try this then I think we can do it" She paused looking at his chest, Josh lifted his arms to circle around her waist as she spoke again. "But Josh, you have to want it" She looked into his eyes and he smiled at her.

"God CJ I do want to give this a try" He ran his hands up under her jacket and pulled her close to his body. He could smell her perfume as he inched his face closer to hers. "I really do"

CJ smiled and licked her lips. Josh's eyes shot to her mouth and she could feel excitement bubbling up through her body at the thought of kissing him again. Josh wanted nothing more than to have his lips pressed against hers but he was hesitant. He didn't want to move to fast in fear of scaring her away. CJ moved her hands to his neck and gently pulled giving Josh the hint that he needed, he wasted no time in placing his lips firmly against hers. It was short but full of promise and CJ found herself wanting more as Josh pulled back. He stepped away from her and walked straight into the kitchen, leaving a confused CJ standing by the table. Once in the kitchen Josh willed his body to calm down, already sporting a painfully hard erection he tried to think of anything other than the feel of CJ's body pressed into his. He put his hands on the counter and bowed his head, he didn't hear CJ walk in and lean against the counter next to him.

"You ok?" His head shot up fast at the sound of her voice and he felt himself go a little dizzy at the sudden movement. He took a deep breath, making sure his body was doing as it was told then smiled at her. She looked worried.

"Yeah, I just needed a second" He said hoping she understood and Josh took the small laugh to mean that she did. She was standing close to him, he wanted to grab her and take her right here in the kitchen. He could feel his body reacting again to the images now floating into his brain. CJ was having the same thoughts, she was leaning closer into him and she could feel the heat radiating from his body. He suddenly pulled away from her and she sighed, feeling both relieved and disappointed at the loss of intimacy. Josh needed to distract himself, he looked around his kitchen.

"Can I get you anything? Coffee or…" He gestured to the coffee pot standing on the counter behind her.

"No thanks. I should be heading home" She hesitated for a second then walked back out to the front room, Josh followed closely behind her.

"You're leaving?" He asked. Had he done something wrong? Had she not understood what he was trying to tell her earlier?

"I think I should"

"Changing your mind?" He asked in jest but he silently prayed that she hadn't. She stopped at the door and turned to face him.

"No. I just think if I stayed any longer then I might not end up leaving at all" She admitted. Josh's heart felt like it was about to explode it was beating so hard. He walked slowly towards her and CJ held her breath, the way he was looking at her made her burn for him. His eyes were intense and filled with lust and longing and something else she couldn't quite figure out. He stopped just in front of her before bringing one hand up to caress her face.

"That wouldn't be such a bad thing" He closed the gap between them and pressed a kiss to her jaw, he kissed his way down her neck and CJ closed her eyes at the contact.

"No it wouldn't" She said huskily. Josh smiled against her neck at the sound of her voice, he was pleased to know that she wanted this just as much as he did. He pulled away and touched his forehead to hers, he ran his fingers over the sensitive skin he'd just been kissing.

"Then stay" He whispered to her hoping she would. She paused breathing heavily, she brought her hands to his face and kissed him passionately, letting her mouth open to his. After what seemed like hours CJ pulled back and looked into Josh's eyes. She smiled at him and he understood her response. She was staying.

-x-

Josh took hold of her hand and led her through his apartment towards his bedroom. He left her standing near the bed as he reached to turn on his bedside lamp. When he turned back to CJ she was slipping off her jacket and looking around his room. He walked up behind her, took her jacket and placed it on a chair. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. The top she was wearing was off the shoulder and he kissed the bare skin there. He moved her bra strap and trailed his tongue from her shoulder up her neck and to her ear where he nibbled on it. CJ sighed and rested her head back as Josh once again nuzzled her neck. She was acutely aware of his hands dancing around her middle and found herself wishing they would wander to other parts of her body. She brought one hand up to his head and guided him to her mouth, as they kissed CJ laced her other hand with one of his. She stepped away from him but kept hold of his hand and she led him to his bed. She gently pushed him down on to it and stood in front of him, Josh reached out for her but she pushed his hands away laughing at the frustrated look on his face.

"CJ…" He warned, she was within his reach and yet she held herself so far away. Was she trying to kill him?

"Be patient Joshua, enjoy the show" She reached for the bottom of her t-shirt and started to slowly pull it up, her eyes never leaving his. Josh however focused his attention on the first bit of exposed skin, his mouth watered at the sight. CJ pulled the shirt over her head and dropped it on the floor, she watched Josh lick his lips as his gaze fell on her breasts and she felt a warmth pool between her legs. She was finding it difficult to keep this up, she was torn between teasing him with this slow strip tease and throwing herself on him. It will be worth it in the end she reminded herself and continued to undress for the man sat in front of her. Josh was trying to memorise everything about her body, the way her breasts rose and fell with every breath, the healthy glow of her skin. He watched her stomach muscles dance under her skin as she bent slightly to pull off her boots. He was suddenly distracted when her hands moved to the button of her jeans, and she smiled slyly at him as the button sprung free. She pulled the zipper down slowly and pushed the material down her legs, she stepped away from them and kicked them out of the way.

Josh just stared at her, he'd always thought she was beautiful but nothing had really prepared him for this. She stood before him in nothing but a pair of white cotton boy shorts and a matching bra. She stepped closer to him and lifted one leg up resting her foot between his legs, she brushed her toes against his straining erection.

"Wanna give me a hand?" She asked, nodding her head at her sock. Josh tentatively placed his hands on her thigh and slowly stroked his way down her smooth skin to her ankle. He removed her sock and she placed the other foot in the same place so he could do the same thing. As CJ tried to move away from him he kept hold of her ankle, stopping her. She chuckled as he reached up and pulled her hips toward him. He placed a kiss on her smooth, flat stomach and pulled her down so she was straddling his hips. CJ ran her hands through his hair and kissed him deeply, reacquainting herself with his mouth. Josh reached behind her and unclasped her bra, he pulled it away and lifted his hands up to explore her bare breasts. CJ moaned at the contact and pushed herself into him wanting more. He his way to her breast and took her nipple in between his teeth and rolled it, he sucked and licked it then moved his attention to the other one. CJ was wriggling above him as pleasure shot from her nipples straight to her core. Josh moaned when he felt her grind against his erection, he couldn't take it anymore, he had to have her. He flipped her over so he was on top and she laughed at the surprise move. He silenced her with another kiss as they both attacked his shirt and boxers trying furiously to remove them as quickly as possible. Josh pulled at CJ's panties and she lifted her hips so he could remove them. He made his way up to her and grazed her collarbone with his teeth, CJ wrapped her arms around him loving the attention. Josh positioned himself at her entrance and he could feel her heat, he could feel how wet she was for him. He looked up into her eyes and she smiled at him.

"Are you sure?" He asked her, wanting to be sure she really wanted this as much as he did.

"Yes" Was all she said and she smiled again. She tilted her hips up so that she brushed herself against him and laughed when he growled.

Josh sat back on his heels and took hold of her hips, he pulled her closer and pushed inside her gently. CJ closed her eyes and for a second he thought he'd hurt her until she let out a satisfied sigh. Josh slowly moved inside her, letting CJ get to used to him being there but he soon realised she had ideas of her own. She planted her feet firmly on the mattress and used her legs to help her quicken the pace. Josh had never felt anything like it, he became still allowing her to move freely. He watched as she thrust against him, taking in her the sight of her body. His eyes travelled up until he met hers. He let his hands wander over her body, massaging and playing while she moved on him. She closed her eyes and let out a low groan.

"Oh Josh…" He knew she close and he reached down to roll her hardened nub between his finger and thumb. She bucked against him and continued to move faster. Her body was glistening with sweat and Josh had to fight the urge to thrust into her. He could feel her inner walls trembling and he increased the pressure on her clit. He knew she was finding it difficult to reach her climax so he leaned forward and took a nipple into his mouth sucking hard. CJ gasped.

"Oh Josh!" She went still underneath him as she crashed over the edge and Josh finally allowed himself to move inside her slowly letting her ride out the last of her orgasm. He watched her face, loving the way her cheeks had flamed from their activities. "Oh god Josh" She breathed into his ear as she buried her face into his neck. He was still moving slowly inside her and CJ wrapped her legs around his hips. He raised himself up on to his arms and started to pump quickly in and out of her body. He couldn't believe how amazing she felt, so smooth and warm. They both found a steady rhythm and continued to kiss and explore each others body. Josh felt CJ start to stiffen in his arms again, a sign he realised that meant she was close. He looked into her eyes as he quickened his pace, his own climax building at the feel of her quivering walls. CJ closed her eyes as she felt her orgasm wash over her.

"Oh yes" She stilled in his embrace and Josh felt himself explode inside her. "Oh god Claudia Jean" He rested his head against hers as he slowed his pace. They were both breathing heavily as they stilled. Josh showered her face with small kisses as he rolled off her gathering her up in his arms as he went. They were silent for a few minutes, both bathing in the afterglow of their union. Finally CJ turned onto her stomach and raised herself up on her elbows to look at her lover.

"Hi" She said almost shyly. Josh brushed away a sweaty strand of her hair and traced his thumb over her lips.

"Hi" He replied. They shared a little chuckle as CJ collapsed against him, resting her head on his shoulder and snuggling into him. Josh wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "Can I ask you something?" He asked quietly.

"Sure"

"Does this feel weird?" He asked quietly.

"No" CJ chuckled and lifted her head to look at him. "It feels good"

"It does, doesn't it?" He sounded amazed and when he looked at her, she laughed again.

"You really are sweet Josh" She studied his face as he stared at the ceiling replaying their encounter through his head when suddenly he felt an iron weight drop into his stomach. They hadn't used protection.

"CJ…" He paused and turned to look at her. "We didn't…" She shook her head and smiled. She had seen his expression change and knew instantly what he was going to say.

"Don't worry about it, I got us covered" She said softly. He nodded and she watched him relax, his expression content. She lowered her head back onto his shoulder and closed her eyes. They both fell into a comfortable silence and Josh couldn't help but marvel at the amazing turn in events. He couldn't quite believe he was laying in bed with this wonderful woman, this woman he admired and respected. He was jostled from his thoughts when CJ wriggled out of his arms and got off the bed, Josh propped himself up on his arm to look at her.

"What are you doing?" He asked watching her naked body move as she padded across the room. She picked his t-shirt up off the floor and slipped it on before making her way back to him.

"I was getting cold" She crawled onto the bed next to Josh and knelt beside him. She reached out her hand and pressed it against his chest, playing with the soft hair there.

"You know if you're cold we could just get into bed" He said, running his hand over her thigh.

"We could" She said slowly, pretending to mull the idea over on her head.

"But you don't want to" He grinned, becoming aware of her meandering hand as it made it's way down his body. She shook her head at him and allowed her hand to close around his awakening member.

"Well I hadn't planned on it" Josh hissed as CJ started to gradually pump her hand over him. He laughed softly and reached out for her, kissing her thoroughly.

This time they leisurely explored the parts they missed before, slowly teasing and caressing each other. They laughed and talked through the rest of the night until finally they lay facing each other smiling. Josh pulled her close tucking her securely into his body. CJ sighed happily and rested her head against his.

"Goodnight Josh" She whispered finally allowing sleep to take over her exhausted body.

"Goodnight Claudia Jean" He wrapped his arms tighter around her and closed his eyes hoping that morning would take it's time in arriving.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it....**

**Please leave a review or pm me, all comments are greatly appreciated! xxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**As always, I hope you enjoy…**

**Calliope Jae x**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The day after**

_Beep, beep, beep!_

Josh startled awake at the sound of his alarm and shuffled across the bed to quickly turn it off. He rubbed his face trying to wake himself up porperly and rolled onto his back. He noted his empty bed and tidy room. Had there not been a brown leather jacket laying on his chair in the corner of the room he would have thought that CJ had not been there at all. He swung his legs over the bed and stood up, stretching his arms above his head as he did. He padded out of the room and made his way to the bathroom. He knocked on the locked door.

"Come in" Josh opened the door slowly, letting hot steam billow out into the hallway. CJ was fastening her bra and he leaned against the open door watching her. She was standing in front of him wearing her underwear, her skin glistening slightly with moisture from her shower and he thought she looked beautiful.

"Hi" He says as he watches her wipe the condensation from the mirror.

"Good morning" She smiles at him and Josh feels a little giddy. He liked the feeling of sharing his morning with this woman, in some strange way it felt like she'd always been here. He walks in and stands behind her, wrapping his arms around her middle and nuzzling her neck. She chuckled and turned her slightly to kiss his cheek.

"Do you have a spare toothbrush?" Josh reached above her and opened the medicine cabinet, he pulled out a spare toothbrush and handed it to her. He went back to nuzzling her neck but this time allowed his hands to wander over her stomach. "You staying to make sure I brush my teeth properly?" She asked him, sarcasm lacing every word.

"Just checking you washed behind your ears" He said as he nibbled on her lobe observing her in the mirror. They were silent as CJ brushed her teeth and Josh used the time to reacquaint himself with her curves.

"You going home?" He asks after she rinses her mouth and places the toothbrush back in the cabinet, she turns in his arms and kisses him lightly.

"Yeah, I can't go into the office like this" Josh was about to make a joke about her going to the office in her underwear when he heard his pager go off. He kissed CJ one last time and ran to his bedroom to find his pager. CJ followed after a few seconds wearing her jeans and she sat down on the bed. "Was it Leo?"

"Yeah. I should call in" CJ pulls on her top and brushes her fingers through her hair as Josh calls Leo. She starts looking around the room for her socks when she hears her own pager and sure enough it was Leo, she would call him back once she got home.

"Hey Leo what's up?" Josh was talking on the phone and CJ gave him a puzzled look when he winked at her. "Yeah sure, no it's not a problem. I'll be right there" He hangs up and turns towards CJ. "This is me calling you to tell you that senior staff has been moved to 7 and to get in as soon as possible" He chuckled at himself as he started to get ready, he didn't notice CJ sit up sharply.

"7?" Her voice raised an octave. "Josh it's 6.35 I'm not going to have time to go home, change and then get to the office" She rushed about the room gathering the last of her things and running out into the front room.

"Don't you have anything in the office?" Josh followed her out, stuffing his shirt into his trousers as he went.

"I'm going to drive in now ok?" CJ ignored his question, she didn't know what she had in the office but there was only one way to find out.

"Sure"

"I'll see you in a bit" She shrugged her jacket on and opened the door.

"CJ?"

"Yeah?"

"I had fun last night" He said quietly, he felt almost shy telling her. CJ smiled sweetly and stepped towards him, she kissed him softly and let her lips linger for a minute before pulling back.

"Me too" She smiled again and touched his face, just as she turned to leave he called to her again.

"CJ" He paused. "Do you want to… I mean we could…" He stopped suddenly unsure of himself, why was he finding it so hard to ask her a simple question.

"Josh I don't have time for this" She says apologetically, she laughed softly and kissed him one last time. "Take me out for lunch today, you can stutter all you want then" And with that she ran out of his apartment leaving Josh staring at the closed door.

"Ok"

-x-

The White House

CJ ran through the north entrance, swiped her card and pushed in her pin number. Toby was coming toward her from the communications department and smirked at her flustered state.

"Is there a new dress code?" Toby asked as she rushed past him.

"You're kidding me right?" She marched through the bullpen ignoring everyone's questioning glances and entered her office, Toby followed closely behind, an amused expression on his face. She threw her bag onto her desk as Toby sat on her sofa preparing to make fun of her.

"You took my advice?" He asked, crossing his legs and folding his hands over his knee. CJ spun towards him and glared.

"Toby!" She said exasperatedly. This really wasn't what she needed right now. Toby understood the tone all too well and held his hands up in the air as a sign of surrender.

"Ok ok" He said quickly. CJ shuffled around her office a bit, she needed clothes. Where did she keep her clothes at the office? Then it came to her, Carol would know.

"Carol!" She shouted, not actually knowing where her assistant was. Carol came running into her office from nowhere with a few pink slips in her hand, phone message for CJ. The assistant stopped and stared at her boss.

"Did you run out of clean clothes again?" Carol asked after a few seconds, Toby laughed at her remark and CJ silenced him with a glance

"Do I have anything here?" She asked taking the pink slips and examining them. Carol walks back out to her office and it takes a moment before she answers.

"Yeah, it's the dark purple shift dress with the cap sleeves" Carol has to shout from her place in the outer office so that CJ could hear.

"The one with the round neck?"

"Yup" Carol enters CJ's office holding the dress. CJ looked it over and remembered it being a little short when she had it on.

"I can't wear that, it's too short"

"Well it's either this or you go in what you're wearing" Carol said draping it over one of the guest chairs. CJ sighed.

"Fine" She takes off her jacket and picks up the dress, it's the sort of thing she's worn around the office before just a little shorter than usual. "Are there any shoes out there?" She calls out to Carol who has gone back to doing work at her desk.

"You have the black Manolo Blahnik pumps. The ones you wore to.." She brings them in and CJ holds up a hand. She didn't need to be reminded of the last time she wore these, she may have been drunk with the First Lady again but she still remembered it all.

"Yeah I know. They'll do, thanks Carol" Just before she allowed her assistant to leave CJ asked her to send an intern to her apartment to retrieve some suitable clothing for her to change into later. Toby rose from the sofa as Carol left, taking it as his cue to leave too, but before he left he couldn't help but have one last bit of fun.

"So I'm guessing you didn't get home last night" He leaned against the doorframe and tried to keep his face serious. CJ picked up a pen from her desk and threw it at him.

"Go away!" She shouted to him as he finally left. She could hear him chuckling to him self as he walked away.

"Senior staff in 5 minutes" He called to her over his shoulder.

"Yeah!" She slammed the door shut and started to change quickly. She thought back to just 30 minutes earlier, her day had started out so wonderfully.

-x-

Outside Leo's office

3 minutes later CJ runs to Leo's office in her bare feet, caring her shoes and notepad in one arm. She stopped at Margaret's desk and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Toby and Sam standing there too. She glanced at Toby who still wore an amused grin and she ignored it.

"Hey CJ" Sam greeted her in his usual energetic and boyish way.

"Hey Sam" She handed him her notepad and placed a hand on his shoulder to help her balance while she put her shoes on. She was fastening one of the straps when Josh walked in. She glanced up to see him stop dead in his tracks and she grinned in side when she saw him staring at her legs. Josh knew he was staring but he couldn't help it, the woman had amazing legs and after he'd had them wrapped around him last night… he shook the images from his mind. When his eyes met CJ's he knew she'd caught him staring, fortunately a quick glance around the room told him no one else had. He cleared his throat, mumbled a quick hello to everyone and moved away from CJ trying to avoid her eyes. Margaret stepped out of Leo's office and held the door open for them.

"You can go in now" She said as she walked past them, they filed into Leo's office and CJ closed the door behind her. Josh sat himself down on the sofa while Sam sat opposite him and Toby lingered in the back ground. Leo soon walked over to join them as CJ sat down next to Josh. When she crossed her legs her knee brushed his and suddenly Josh had to fight the urge to reach out a hand to caress her. Sitting so close to her he couldn't help but notice that she wasn't wearing stockings, he held back a groan and he could feel himself getting a little hot under the collar. The opportunity to touch her came when Donna arrived and handed him a file, as he leant over to get it he let his hand brush against CJ's thigh. He felt her stiffen slightly next to him but she continued talking to Leo as if nothing had happened. Once he settled himself back into his original position he glanced at Sam who was looking at him oddly which meant he'd seen through his attempt at discretion. Josh cursed inside and tried to ignore Sam, maybe if he didn't acknowledge him he might think it was an accident. CJ made herself focus on what Leo was saying, thinking that maybe sitting next to Josh was not a good idea. She didn't know if the 'accidental' touch on her thigh really was an accident or not but she hadn't expected her body to react the way it had. She could feel herself aching and burning for him and it shocked her deeply. She felt like she couldn't trust herself to be near him anymore and found herself willing the meeting to go faster. Finally after what felt like hours Leo dismissed them and the staff were allowed to leave, as Josh and CJ stood up he placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her out of the door whispering in her ear.

"You look good today" He stopped once they were in the corridor and Josh leaned against the wall.

"I know" She smiled at him over her shoulder as she continued down the corridor. He was so engrossed watching her retreating figure that he didn't notice Sam standing behind him.

"What's going on?" Sam asked not lifting his head from the file he was reading. Josh snapped his head around, had he caught him ogling CJ?

"What do you mean? There's noting going on with us" Josh tried to cover quickly and strode towards his office hoping to leave his friend behind. Sam, curious as to what would bring on Josh's odd and almost paranoid behaviour, followed him. He'd noticed Josh said _us_, did he mean CJ? He'd been watching her walk down the hall and then there was the incident in Leo's office, Sam felt there might be a good story in this.

"I was actually just asking what was going on with you. But now I want to know what's going on with CJ"

"I don't know what you're talking about Sam" Josh tried to keep all emotion from his voice but inside he was starting to panic, once Sam got a feel for something he didn't usually let it rest until he knew everything about it.

"You said 'us'"

"No I didn't"

"Are you seeing CJ?" Sam could feel excitement bubbling inside him, he didn't really think Josh was seeing CJ but it was fun to watch his friend struggle with his line of questioning.

"What? No. We're just friends" Josh walked into his office wishing Sam would lose interest and go somewhere else. He was terrible at keeping secrets from those closest to him and knew that if Sam tried hard enough he'd see through his charade.

"Uh huh, so if I go and see CJ and tell her you told me everything she wouldn't be in here two seconds after to kick your ass?" Josh rushed to shut the door that lead out to the bullpen and turned to Sam, he was going to figure it out for himself sooner or later anyway.

"Ok but Sam this has got to stay between us!" He whispered sternly to him. Sam started to laugh until Josh peered into CJ's empty office and realisation hit him like a tone of bricks.

"Oh my god your actually seeing CJ. How the hell did you manage that?" Sam couldn't believe it, was that really what was going on here?

"What's that supposed to mean?" Josh asked laughing a little at the astonished look on Sam's face. Sam opened and closed his mouth a few times trying to find the right words.

"Well it's CJ and she's… you know, and well your… you" Sam finished with a laugh.

"Yeah thanks Sam. Your confidence in me is almost overwhelming" Josh moved around his desk and sat down in his chair, Sam sat down in one of the guest chairs and began to question his friend more.

"How did this even start?"

"I don't know Sam it just did" Josh shook his head, to be honest he wasn't really sure how it had started, one moment him and CJ were talking and the next he had her pressed into the door. Does that mean he had started it? "Look the point is, is that it's only just started and I don't need you sticking your nose in it ok?" He said and had it been to anyone else he would of sounded harsh but Sam knew what he meant. "So, please don't let any of this get back to CJ" He levelled his gaze at Sam and he nodded.

"Ok" He was quiet for a second letting this new information sink in and when he had finally wrapped his head around it he grinned at Josh. "Wow! So you and CJ"

"Yeah"

"Wow!" Sam shook his head in disbelief.

"I know" Josh couldn't believe it either, how had he managed this? Sam was right, CJ was beautiful, smart, and funny and remarkably good at her job and he was just… well, Josh. Sam moved forward in his chair breaking Josh from his thoughts and when he spoke he lowered his voice.

"Have you… have you and CJ… have you had… you know?" Sam stammered, Josh thought he looked 19 years old again.

"Sam…" Josh laughed at the gleeful expression on his friends face, he really did feel like he was in college again and the urge to boast was almost too much. "Yeah" He said just as quietly as Sam had spoken earlier and his face broke out into a grin.

"Is it too much like college if I say 'who's the man?'" Josh rolled his eyes at the familiar saying. "How was it?" Sam continued in the same low voice.

"Sam I can't talk about this here" Josh glanced towards CJ's office thinking he might have seen something move but decided it was just his paranoid imagination.

"Ah come on" Sam cajoles him wanting details.

"Sam, no" Josh was now more than a little worried that he might have seen something move next door, he knew he should end the conversation and send Sam on his way but he had to admit, he was having fun.

"Just tell me, was it good?" Josh couldn't believe he was about to give into Sam's eager questions.

"It was great, better than that!" He kept his focus on the adjoining door looking for any signs that CJ might be there.

"Yeah? I always imagined she would be…" Josh whipped his head around to look at Sam who trailed off before finishing his sentence.

"You've imagined it?" He tried to give Sam his best scolding scowl but it came out as more of a lopsided grin. Sam realised what he had said might not be acceptable in front of Josh at present and attempted to back peddle his way out of the situation.

"No I…"

"Your talking about my girl there Sam" Josh watched Sam squirm in his seat and held down the laughter he could feel sparkling in the pit of his stomach.

"She's a very beautiful woman Josh, you can't blame me for…" Sam let out a nervous laugh but stopped at Josh's next comment.

"You wanna bet on that?" This was fun, Josh thought as he walked around his desk and stood in front of Sam looking down at him.

"I'm just gonna leave now" Sam stood quickly and dashed for the door.

"Yeah, I'll see you later" Josh shouted to his quickly retreating figure, laughing at the absurdity of it, but just as Sam was about to leave he called back to him.

"Wow" He mouthed the words and Josh laughed again as Sam finally left his office. He strode to the other side of his desk still laughing a little and sat down to start his work for the day.

"You told Sam?" Josh's face dropped and his heart started to beat fast when he heard her voice. Crap! He jumped out of his chair and noticed CJ standing in her doorway, how long had she been there?

"No" He lied lamely.

"Josh…" There was a slight warning in her voice as she sauntered towards him. Panic filled his body and he felt words tumbling out of his mouth with out his consent.

"He guessed and he was going to come talk to you if I didn't tell him and you know what Sam's like when he catches wind of something… especially if it's gossip and he would of…" CJ cut him off by kissing him full on the mouth hoping to stop his ramble but when she pulled back he continued as if nothing had happened. "…just kept going until he had all the answers he wanted and…" She tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow at him as he continued with his monologue.

"Josh, shut up!" She interrupted him when she couldn't take anymore of his nonsense. He took a deep breath and nodded.

"Right"

"I'm not gonna pretend that telling Sam was ok but he's your oldest friend, I can't forbid you from talking to him. I wouldn't want to" She sighed and squeezed one of his hands. "I just want this to stay quiet, at least until we work out the kinks and figure what this is exactly"

"Sure, whatever you thinks best" He agreed whole heartedly with her and he couldn't help but be relieved that she hadn't killed him. "What if some one figures it out or asks?" Josh was quiet while CJ pondered the question in her head.

"Then it's ok to confirm it but I don't want to flaunt it around the White House and I want to keep this out of the press room for as long as possible; Ok?" Josh could tell that she had slipped into being Press Secretary and he knew that what she said made sense, he nodded his understanding.

"Ok" He paused for a second until he was sure that CJ was just CJ again and not in press control mode before he spoke his next words. "Hey, do you think I could get a kiss?" He asked in that cocky way of his, CJ rolled her eyes at him and walked back into her office.

"No"

"Why?" He followed her closely.

"Cause we're working"

"But, you just kissed me a moment ago" Josh didn't think she was playing very fair and CJ realised she'd made a mistake earlier.

"Yeah I did. The first and last one" Josh grabbed her waist, they were standing in front of her desk and he pushed her against it. "Josh don't you have work to do?" She tried to distract him but it was a weak attempt, he kissed her and ran his hands over her body. CJ pulled away from his demanding lips and tried in vain to wriggle out of his grasp before anyone walked in on them. "In case you were wondering I'd say this was flaunting our relationship in the White House" She laughed despite herself and allowed him to kiss her one last time.

"Thanks for clearing that up for me. I should go…" He still had hold of her by the waist but made no attempt to leave.

"Yes you should" She pushed him gently away from her, tilting her head flirtatiously at him. He stumbled backwards towards their neighbouring door holding his hands against his heart pretending to be hurt.

"I'm gone" He said as he disappeared into his own office and CJ sat down in her chair to return some phone calls. Not two seconds later Josh put his head around the door and said quietly. "You really do look good today" He vanished from sight and CJ felt her self blush a little, she was glad no one was around to see it. She tried to push all thoughts of Josh out of her head as she concentrated on her work but she couldn't help but look forward to lunch time.

-x-

It was now nearly 12.15 and due to their busy work loads Josh and CJ had not seen or spoken to each other since he left her office a few hours earlier. CJ stepped down from her podium after promising the reporters another briefing later in the afternoon. She walked to her office as Carol trotted along side her taking note of what documents and files CJ would need to read before her next briefing. Once CJ was in her office she threw her notebook down on her desk and wandered into Josh's office, which to her disappointment was empty. She was about to leave when Donna came bustling in.

"Hey CJ" Her arms were overloaded with files and CJ took a few from her quickly before she dropped them.

"Hey Donna, you know where Josh is?" She asked her as they both placed the files on his desk.

"Yeah he's in with the President" Donna busied about the place, putting away files and tidying up before her boss got back. CJ helped out a little where she could feeling a little let down that she would most likely be eating lunch alone today. Donna seemed to notice her slightly crestfallen mood and looked up at her. "Do you want to leave him a message or anything?" She asked trying to be helpful, CJ shook her head.

"No it's ok" CJ turned to go back through to her own office.

"You sure?"

"Yeah don't worry 'bout it Donna. We were just going to get some lunch together but it doesn't matter" She smiled at her friend who smiled back.

"OK" CJ left Donna to get on with her work.

-x-

55 minutes later

"Any messages for me?" Josh asks Donna as she follows him into his office.

"Nothing I wasn't able to take care of" She placed a new file on his desk for him to read through. Donna was about to leave when she remembered he'd had a visitor. "Oh CJ stopped by" Josh's snapped up at the name.

"What did she say?"

"Nothing just that you were meant to be having lunch" Josh grimaced as he remembered their conversation in his apartment. "I'm guessing by that look that you forgot" Donna knew that face well and she sighed, it seemed that if she wasn't there to remind him of things he always forgot what he was meant to be doing.

"Is she in her office?" He stood up and started towards her office.

"I don't know" Donna replied as she left. Josh knocked lightly on their adjoining door and waited a second before entering. CJ was sitting behind her desk talking on the phone, he noticed an empty salad box next to a stack of papers. He felt guilty, their first _lunch date _and he forgot. He groaned and sat down in one of the guest chairs. He watched her as she wrote something down, thanked the person on the other end and hung up.

"Hey" She said once she was able to.

"I'm sorry I forgot about lunch" He told her looking into her eyes, CJ shrugged her shoulders.

"You were with the President. Even if you had remembered there's nothing you could have done about it, so don't worry about it" She smiled to reassure him, trying to tell him that it really was ok. It was something that would no doubt happen to them frequently but she was confident that they would work around it. Josh sat back in his chair and observed her.

"Doesn't make it any better though" He appeared to be taking this more seriously than CJ thought.

"You can make it up to me some time" She said, trying to tease him out of his sullen mood. It seemed to work as he lifted his head to look at her his eyes sparkling a little.

"How about tomorrow night?" He asked keenly.

"Tomorrow night?" CJ hadn't been expecting that.

"I'd like to take you out to dinner" Josh sat up straight in his chair, renewed and eager to prove himself. CJ found her self melting at his actions and smiled.

"I'd like that"

"Tomorrow night then?" He asked as he got up from his chair already planning their first date in his head.

"Tomorrow night" She said as she watched him walk to his door, she had to admit feeling a little excited at the thought of going on a date with Josh.

"I suddenly feel like there's an echo in here" He was standing at their door grinning, CJ shook her head at him.

"Funny boy" She said and shooed him away with her hands. "Now leave me alone, I have things to do" She could hear him laughing as he left. Before she continued with her work CJ gave herself a few seconds to think about tomorrow night and her date with Josh.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed both chapters…**

**Please leave a review or pm me, all comments are greatly appreciated! Xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi all, I'm so sorry for making you all wait so long for this next post. I had to re-write it so many times because I just wasn't happy with it. **

**Please remember to leave a review at the end and thank you to everyone that already has, it's what has kept me going while writing this last chapter so thank you again!**

**Anyway happy reading and I hope you enjoy it :D**

**Calliope Jae x**

* * *

Chapter 5 - An almost perfect evening

Donna Moss walked into CJ's office and flopped down onto her sofa, CJ glanced up from her desk that was littered with papers and raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"I'm bored" Donna sighed and sank even further into the comfy pillows.

"I can see" CJ smirked and Donna let out another sigh. She stood up from the sofa and walked over to the window, CJ continued with her work trying to complete everything as rapidly as possible. Donna leant against CJ's desk and played with the various objects on the surface.

"You wanna get some food?" Donna asked while looking at the pictures on CJ's desk.

"No thanks Donna"

"Come on, we'll try that new organic place near my apartment then we'll go back to mine and get drunk" She grinned

"As tempting as that sounds I'm afraid I still have to say no"

"Why? What are you doing?" Donna was curious, CJ never turned down food and alcohol if it was offered to her. Just as she was about to question her further Carol walked in and handed CJ some notes.

"She has a date" Carol smiled at Donna who turned wide-eyed to look at CJ.

"Didn't I tell you to go home?" CJ snapped affectionately at her assistant, Carol ignored her and winked at Donna as she left.

"You have a date?" Donna asked.

"Yes" CJ stood from behind her desk to put some binders and files away, Donna followed her closely so she would not be able to avoid any of her questions.

"Really?" Donna leant against the filing cabinet CJ was rifling through.

"Is it so hard to believe?"

"No it's just no one in this place goes on dates anymore. Most of us don't have time" Donna watched her friend bustle around her office.

"Yeah well, I found time" CJ laughed a little.

"So who is he?" She could see the curiosity bubbling up through Donna as she sat down again on her sofa.

"Just a guy" CJ shrugged hoping that Donna would leave it at that, it was a long shot but she thought she might as well try.

"Wait do I know him?" Donna sat up straight excited at the possibility of knowing her date.

"Everyone knows everyone around here Donna"

"So that's a yes?" When CJ remained silent, Donna groaned. "Come on CJ, give me some details"

"There are no details Donna, this is our first date" It wasn't a complete lie.

"Where is he taking you?" Donna got up from the sofa again, all the movement made CJ feel a little nervous but she knew that the prospect of new gossip made the assistants around here jumpy.

"Some restaurant on 36th Street, I can't remember the exact name though" CJ turned her focus to the TV's to see if anything had come up in the past 30 minutes. She could still see Donna hovering from the corner of her eye and knew she had to give her a better answer. "Is it possible that it has something to do with a year?"

"Oh my god!" Donna stilled and gaped at CJ who turned around in her chair to look at her.

"What?"

"He's taking you to 1789?" Donna said, her face full of surprise. CJ paused and thought for a few seconds, turning back to the TV's.

"Is it possible to take some one back in time now?" Donna almost growled at CJ's attempt to avoid the question.

"CJ" Donna moved to stand in front of the monitor's so that CJ couldn't ignore her. "Is that were he's taking you"

"Yeah it could be, why?"

"Why?" Donna threw her hands up in the air, this woman could be so maddening some times. "CJ it's like one the best restaurants around here and not to mention an expensive one, god, is your guy rich?" At this CJ let out a hearty laugh.

"I doubt that" She nudged Donna out of the way with her foot so she could take one last glance at the screens. Donna sighed and moved back to slump down on the sofa.

"You're so lucky, the closest I've come to being taken out for dinner was when my cousin bought me a hot dog two days ago" CJ looked toward her but didn't say anything for awhile, finally she nodded a little and pursed her lips.

"Yeah, that's kinda sad Donna"

"Tell me about it" Donna thought she sounded more than just a little pathetic even to her own ears and cringed but before she had the chance to think anymore about it Josh's voice bellowed through from the bullpen.

"DONNA!" She closed her eyes when she heard her name being called and CJ smirked.

"DONNA!!!" The voice came again two seconds later when she failed to reply straight away. She rolled her eyes at CJ and walked out to the bullpen to attend to her boss. CJ returned to her work after watching Donna leave, thinking that Josh was sometimes too hard on his assistant. She was just packing away her things when she was stopped by a voice, she glanced up and smiled.

"Shouldn't you be leaving by now?" Josh was standing in the doorway watching her, how long had he been there? CJ lifted her bag and coat for him to see.

"I'm going" She headed for the door and Josh stepped aside for her to leave, he smiled at her.

"I'll see you in an hour then"

"Ok" She returned his smile and left, she didn't need to turn around to know that he was still watching her as she walked to the exit.

-x-

CJ looked herself over in the mirror one last time and even though she was ready she was now having second thoughts on her choice of dress. She wore a black silk dress that hugged her body like a second skin and flowed out around her legs ending just above her knees. It had spaghetti straps that crossed over her back and a flattering neckline that showed only a little cleavage. She turned and eyed the backless dress, it wasn't too low but CJ felt it might be a little too much. She nervously fiddled with the wrap she was holding and thought about changing quickly. Suddenly the phone rang. Thinking it was probably going to be Josh to tell her he was on his way she picked up the phone quickly.

"Are you on your way?" She asked as she played with the silver diamond pendant around her neck.

"CJ, we need you to come in" Leo McGarry demanded from his end of the line.

"Oh ok, just give me a minute and…" CJ wanted to change out of her dress before she went into work but Leo interrupted her.

"We need you now CJ, it'll only take 10 minutes" Something in Leo's voice made her think that Donna had been sharing gossip with Margaret. "We'll be in the Oval"

"I'll be right there" She said before hanging up. She slipped her favourite black Chanel shoes on, pulled her wrap over her shoulders and grabbed her black clutch bag as she ran out of the door.

-x-

"Wow, you look good" Sam was walking towards CJ as she briskly made her way through the lobby.

"I know I do Sam" He almost had to jog to keep up with CJ's long strides. "I'm wearing make-up and perfume, I painted my nails, bought new stockings and underwear and what am I doing with them?"

"You're wearing them to the office" He said a small smile playing on the corners of his mouth.

"Correct Mr. Seaborn!" She gave him the thumbs up. "I'm wearing them to the office" She sounded pissed and Sam chuckled.

"You know, you could show your new stockings and underwear to me then it wouldn't feel like a total waste" They stopped outside the President's secretary office and CJ placed a hand on Sam's tie to straighten it up.

"Oh Sam… you better hope that doesn't get back to Josh" She said it quietly so no one else could hear and smiled at Sam's worried face. She patted his shoulder then walked into the office to see Charlie sitting at his desk. "Hey Charlie"

"Hey CJ, you look good" He looked her over and nodded his approval.

"I know" She smiled at him, noticing that Sam had gone unusually quiet.

"You got a date?" Charlie asked.

"Well Chaz as a matter of fact I do and I'm hoping it's still going to be in the cards when I come out of here"

"Your dates gonna miss out" Charlie stood up and moved over to the Oval office door.

"I'm being optimistic" CJ said happily and Charlie scoffed.

"There's a first for everything" He teased her but wished he could take it back when he saw the look on her face.

"You know, I could kick your ass if I wanted to, Charlie boy"

"I have no doubt about that" He opened the door for her and Sam to walk through and smiled at CJ's heated response.

"Damn right!"

Leo nodded to CJ and Sam as they walked into the Oval office, he was standing in front of the Presidents desk with Toby and Josh behind him. The President was talking on the phone and everyone in the room was silent until he finished the call.

"What's going on?"

"We've just had a call about Mendoza" It was Leo who answered. CJ felt Josh glance at her and she knew there was no way this was going to take 10 minutes.

"You're kidding me?" The President walked towards the sofas and motioned for everyone to sit down. "Did we miss something?"

"No Mr. President" Leo took his usual seat next to the President. "He just doesn't seem to understand that when Toby told him not to talk to the press that he meant, don't talk to the press"

"What did he say?" Jed asked, sighing and preparing himself for the worst.

"Toby…" Leo glanced to the Communications Director who rubbed a hand over the back of his head.

"Yeah" Toby cleared his throat and filled the President in on what was going on. 20 minutes later Leo dismisses the senior staff and they slowly made their way towards CJ's office to work on a spin for the morning press briefing. Upon entering her office the men started to think of ideas for a release straight away, each one arguing about the best way to get the right message across. CJ remained silent, if she'd learnt anything while working here it was to keep quiet when her spin boys were doing what they do best. She walked to her desk and took off her wrap, she hadn't noticed them go quiet until she sat down behind her desk and saw them gawking at her.

"Wow!" Sam exclaimed when he finally found his voice again. "If I'd known you were wearing that I would of…" He suddenly trailed off when he remembered who else was in the room, he looked over at Josh sheepishly.

"You would of what?" Josh asks nonchalantly, CJ pulled out a pad of paper from her desk drawer ignoring what was going on in front of her.

"Guys can we, you know, get on with this?" She glanced up and they nodded, each grinning as she took notes on what they were saying. 30 minutes later Sam and Josh left to pack away their things, leaving Toby behind.

"Have you missed your date?" He asked sitting on the corner of CJ's desk next to her.

"No, he just said to call when I'm done and we'd sort something out" She hoped that for once in their friendship Toby would not know she was lying to him. He levelled her with his gaze.

"At least you didn't get all dressed up for nothing then" She knew it was his way of telling her he thought she looked nice and she smiled a thank you to him. CJ stood up from her desk and walked to Carol's office, she placed her notes on the desk ready to be typed up for tomorrows briefing. When she turned around Toby was leaning in the doorway watching her. She smiled at him and he returned it slightly.

"What's up?" She asked, a little confused at the unreadable expression on his face. Toby said nothing but pushed away from the door and walked past her giving her hand a little squeeze as he did.

"Have a good night" It was almost a whisper but CJ heard it, she smiled her thanks then Toby walked away towards his own office. CJ entered her office again and sat down behind her desk. She laid her head against the back of her chair, she could feel how tired her body had become in the past hour. She closed her eyes and allowed herself a moment of rest.

"We can postpone if you're tired" Josh's voice floated in to her from their adjoining doorway. She opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"I'm not tired" She lied and stood up quickly trying to prove her point.

"I don't mind, we could go back to my place instead and order in if you like?" Josh couldn't help but admire her dress as she stood in front of him.

"Look at me, Josh" She said pointing at herself, Josh smiled.

"I am looking at you and I gotta say… I like what I see" He walked slowly towards her, still admiring her clothing and the body it concealed. "A lot"

"I know you do" She dodged his out-stretched arms and picked up her wrap. "And to show your appreciation for my effort you're going to take me out for dinner" She tossed him her wrap and he draped it around her shoulders, dropping a kiss on her neck as he did.

"I can think of other ways I can show my appreciation" He waggled his eyebrows at CJ and she rolled her eyes as she stepped away from him.

"I'm sure you can, but first…"

"I'm taking you out for dinner" He touched her face lightly. "So how is this gonna work?"

"Well, I'm going to drive home and freshen up a bit so why don't you pick me up after you're finished here?" She asked packing up her things.

"Ok, give me about 25 minutes and I'll be there" Josh grabbed hold of CJ's waist before she could dodge him and kissed her hungrily. He felt her chuckle through his chest and he grinned at her when they parted. "Now, get out of here" He said and CJ chuckled again. She picked up her clutch bag and pulled her shawl tighter around her body, she glanced at Josh one last time before dashing out of her office.

Josh stood in CJ's office for a few seconds thinking about her, she looked amazing. Everything about her excited him, the dress, her hair, the light perfume she wore, the list could go on, but what excited him the most was knowing that it was all for him. He forced CJ from his thoughts as he rushed around his office tying up all the loose ends. A short while later he drove to his apartment where he quickly changed into a light grey suit and jumped back into his car to drive to CJ's apartment. On his way he stopped at a store and picked up some flowers, not the best but at least they smelt nice. He buzzed up to her apartment and waited a few seconds for her to answer.

"I'll be right there Josh" She answered quickly and she appeared at the main door a few seconds later.

"Hey" He handed her the delicate flowers and kissed her lightly, she smiled.

"You didn't have to…" She started to say but Josh interrupted her.

"I know but I wanted to"

"Thank you" She smiled shyly at him, Josh placed a hand on the base of her back and guided her to his car where he held the door open for her. She placed the flowers on the back seat and waited for Josh to get in too. As he drove them to the restaurant CJ could feel herself getting nervous and she had no idea why. This was Josh for goodness sake! She laughed at herself and received a puzzled look from the man she was thinking about. Josh pulled up outside the restaurant and CJ took in the beautiful building as one of the valets opened the car door for her. It looked very old, almost like a stately home and the well placed lights made it seem welcoming. She felt a hand on her waist and she glanced at Josh as he led her inside.

The inside was just as beautiful as the outside and CJ's attention went straight to the huge roaring fire place sitting at the back of the main room. A man came to take Josh's coat and then he led them through to a smaller room, where a woman was waiting for them.

"May I help you, Sir?" She addressed Josh and smiled at CJ.

"A reservation for Mr. Lyman"

"Yes Sir, follow me" The woman showed them to their table and gave them their menus as she introduced herself as Michelle and told them she would be back to take their orders shortly. CJ thanked the young woman and opened her menu, she perused the choices then nearly chocked when she saw the prices.

"Oh my god" She whispered, Josh looked up at her.

"What's wrong?"

"This is really expensive Josh"

"Its fine, I got it. Don't worry about it" He smiled at her reassuringly and squeezed her hand, then looked back to his own menu. "I've been told the fish is good here"

"I want meat" She answered quickly, smiling at him.

"A woman after my own heart" He chuckled and winked at her over the top of his menu. The waitress soon returned and took their order, she served them their drinks and with one last smile she left them alone.

"Tell me about your family" Josh asked leaning back in his chair, even though he'd known CJ for over a year now he still didn't really know all that much about her personal life.

"You already know about my family" She chuckled and took a sip of her wine.

"Refresh my memory"

"Ok, well I have two older brothers, Michael and Andrew, Michael is the oldest. My dad's name is Talmidge, but everyone calls him Tal… did you meet him when he visited me on the campaign trial?" She truly couldn't remember if he had or not, it all felt like such a long time ago.

"No I didn't get to meet him, Sam did though. He said he was a great man but a little intimidating… I think he said something about feeling like he was in high school again" CJ laughed and remembered her father testing Sam on his math skills while she and Toby watched on with glee.

"Yeah, I think Sam took a beating that day" They shared a laugh and Josh felt himself grow warm inside as he watched her smiling and glowing. They continued to talk as their food was served, they shared stories from their past, each finding out something new they hadn't known before. They laughed and joked all through dinner and CJ had never been more comfortable with anyone as she was with Josh right now. She suddenly found herself wondering why they hadn't done this sooner, it all felt so right. They decided to share dessert and Josh pretended to fight for the last piece of apple before he allowed CJ to win. They sat for a little longer to finish their drinks, Josh paid the bill then pulled CJ from her chair and led her to the exit.

-x-

Josh slowed his car as he approached CJ's apartment, he didn't want to say goodnight but he didn't want to invite him self up to her place either. CJ waited for the car to stop before she got out, reaching round for the flowers as she did. She noticed Josh still sitting in the car and laughed to herself.

"Are you coming or what?" She asked then shut the door and walked up to the front door. Josh turned the engine off and quickly got out of his car and ran up the steps to join CJ. They walked to the elevator in silence and once inside CJ leaned into him and kissed him softly. Josh seemed to have other ideas as he pulled her closer to him by her waist and deepened the kiss. The elevator opened and CJ pulled on Josh's hand to lead him towards her apartment.

"So I think things might have changed since you were last here" She said to him as she pulled her keys from her bag.

"Well I hope so, you had no furniture when I was here last" She smiled and opened her door, he followed her in and took in his surroundings as CJ closed the door behind them. "Wow" It was beautifully CJ, elegant and feminine, he glanced around at her pictures and saw one of her and two boys. They looked to be in their early twenties and CJ looked to be in her late teens. She was beautiful even then, her waist long dark wavy hair framed her face and she was smiling so brightly it lit up her face. She was wearing a tight white tank top with a leather jacket that was too big for her and a pair of denim shorts that made her legs appear even longer than they already were. He felt her step up behind him and wrap her arms around him, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"You look exactly the same" She chuckled. "How old were you when that was taken?"

"18"

"Are those your brothers?"

"Yeah, the one on the left is Michael and the other is Andrew"

"Michael is the oldest right? And Hogan is his daughter" She nodded "And Andrew is the one that still lives in Dayton" He was proud that he'd managed to keep this information in his head especially after all the information he'd taken in at dinner. CJ nodded again.

"I feel like I haven't seen Andrew in a long time" She moved away from him and walked to her kitchen to put the flowers in a vase, leaving Josh to look at the rest of her photos.

"You have so many pictures" He smiled at the pictures of her as a child, the one with a dog, one with a man Josh assumed was her father and one with a woman that could have been her mother. There was one though that amused Josh, he picked it up and took into the kitchen. CJ was making coffee when he walked in and she laughed when she saw what he was holding. "You were a skater?"

"Not really but I liked the costumes" She took the photo from him and smiled. "When I was a kid I found it difficult to keep control of my body, I was hopeless on the ice"

Josh stepped up and placed his hands on her waist, she put the photo down and ran her hands up his chest. He leaned into her body and kissed her, he ran his tongue along her lower lip and she opened her mouth to him. Josh deepened the kiss and he massaged her tongue with his own, CJ moaned and the sound shot straight to his groin. She pulled back from his lips to catch her breath and Josh planted little kisses along her jaw and cheeks.

"Josh?"

"Hmmm?" Josh trailed his hands across her bare back as he continued to kiss her skin and she shivered at his gentle touch.

"I think we should move this out of the kitchen" She tried to push him away gently but Josh picked her up and placed her on the counter roughly.

"Or we could just stay here" He said pulling down one of the straps of her dress. He kissed her shoulder where the strap had been as he removed the other one and CJ rested her head against his letting out a sigh.

"Ok, here's fine" Josh chuckled and nudged his way between her legs, he pulled her body closer to him and crushed his mouth onto hers. She moaned and tugged at his jacket, she helped him remove it and then threw it to the floor. Josh pulled the top of her dress down and CJ felt her nipples harden as the cool air hit her heated skin. She gasped when he started to softly massage one of her breasts, he planted one last kiss on her lips before he moved his mouth to her nipple. CJ arched into his warmth and pulled him closer whispering his name. She started to undo the buttons of his shirt without looking and once it was open CJ ran her hands over his chest. Josh suddenly came back up to her face and hugged her body to his, he relished the feel of her warm body so close to his and he nibbled on the tender skin near her collarbone. CJ closed her eyes and allowed her self to enjoy the moment, she suddenly chuckled as Josh ran his hands up her sides, tickling her unintentionally and he drew back a little to look at her. He smiled at her, not moving or saying a word he just stared at her until she laughed again.

"What is it?" She asked gently touching his face.

"Nothing" He said still smiling, he wanted to tell her how perfect all this felt, how perfect she felt in his arms, he wanted to tell her he thought she was perfect but that would come later. Right now he wanted to show her all those things, there would be no words tonight.

"Josh?" CJ was peering at him under her long lashes and he knew he had made her worry, he took hold of her chin and kissed her long and hard. He gently lifted her from the counter and set her down on the floor but just as CJ was about to lead him to her bedroom her home phone started to ring. CJ laughed as Josh let out an impatient growl and when she went to answer it he followed her, grabbed her by the waist and spun her around to face him.

"Ignore it" He asked quietly pushing her into the back of her sofa. CJ was happy to do as he asked and let his hands wander over her body but when her niece's voice came over the answer machine she slipped out of Josh's embrace and ran for the phone.

"Hogan?" CJ asked as she picked up the phone, she pulled her dress up to hold it over her chest while she talked. "What's the matter?" CJ thought Hogan sounded a little upset but when she asked, her niece replied with a quick 'nothing'. CJ frowned. "Hogan, you wouldn't be calling me at this late hour if there was nothing wrong" She moved to sit on the edge of her coffee table and shot an apologetic glance at Josh who was still leaning against the sofa. He waved his hand to signal that he didn't mind and made his way to her bedroom giving CJ a little privacy.

"Hogan tell me what's wrong" Her voice was soft as she spoke to the young girl and she wasn't surprised when the 14 year old burst into tears. CJ tried to comfort her niece with encouraging words as she told her aunt about a boy she liked at school and how he had treated her badly. It took a while for CJ to get Hogan to calm down and after promising to visit her next weekend for a shopping trip her niece hung up relatively happy. CJ sighed and made her way to her bedroom, Josh was sitting on the comfy arm chair she had brought with her from California sound a sleep. She smiled at his peaceful expression and disappeared into her bathroom. She emerged a while later wearing purple stripy flannel pants and a baggy white t-shirt she'd had since she was at college, the logo on it long gone from so many washes. She walked over to Josh and gently nudged him awake, he opened his eyes and shot up quickly knocking CJ off balance. Josh reached out to steady her and realised she was laughing, hard.

"I'm sorry" He said rubbing a hand over his face. CJ took his hands and led him to the bed where she pulled down the covers and got in, Josh followed her clad only in his boxers and drew her body to his. "Is Hogan ok?" He asked as his hands wandered under her top and he caressed the smooth skin of her stomach.

"She's fine, a little boy trouble but nothing a trip to the mall with her aunt can't fix" CJ played with the soft hair on his chest and she found it was something she liked doing.

"Then I think we should pick up where we left off" Josh said slipping his hands lower and down between her legs.

"You're not too tired for this?" She teased as she rolled over onto her back allowing Josh to move so he was sitting between her legs.

"Defiantly not" He chuckled and crawled up her body to kiss her, CJ sighed happily as Josh began to undress her again. She couldn't help but reflect on the evening as Josh kissed his way down her body, even with the little glitches here and there it had been an amazing evening. Her thoughts stopped a second while Josh settled himself down between her legs and CJ smiled. Scratch that last thought, it had been a perfect evening, and it was all because of him.

* * *

**Hope it was worth the wait!**

**Please leave a review or pm me, all comments are greatly appreciated! xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi all, so I remember reading a CJ/Toby fic once where Toby's nickname for her was Jeannie and it kinda stuck with me for some reason. I've forgotten the title of the fic and the author so this is the only way that I can say, I hope you don't mind me borrowing it. If anyone recognizes this and can tell me who the author of the fic was I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me so I can give proper credit. **

**Oh and in season 2's****Shibboleth**** CJ says that she missed Thanksgiving because she was sent home with a fever, so I thought it would be fun to start off with that in this chapter. **

**A little note for ObsessedCJK - update soon? Check. He he :P**

**Please remember to leave a review…. Happy reading!**

**Calliope Jae x**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Fevers and Brothers**

Josh walked back to the White House after meeting with the Vice-President, he stuffed his hands into his coat pockets and hunched his shoulders trying to keep himself warm against the cold wind. He quickly showed the security guards his I.D. at the gates and jogged up to the entrance. Donna was waiting for him with a cup, he eyed it suspiciously.

"What did you do?" He asked as he approached her.

"Nothing" She smiled at him and Josh narrowed his eyes, he must have missed something.

"What did I do?" He asked while he furiously searched his memory for any evidence of wrong doing on his part.

"Nothing, it's cold outside and I thought you could use this" She handed him the steaming coffee, took his bag from him and walked to his office. Josh took a sip of his coffee, this was coffee from the mess, the good kind. Something was definitely going on. He followed his assistant through to his office and sat down behind his desk.

"What's going on Donna?" He asked when she sat herself down in front of him.

"What makes you think there's something going on?" She shrugged her shoulders as she said it and laughed a little but Josh wasn't fooled by her 'innocent Donna' routine.

"Donna" He said with a slight warning in his voice. He prepared him self for the nonsense that was probably going to pour from her mouth by taking a big gulp of his really good coffee.

"What's going on with you and CJ?" Donna slid from her chair swiftly to avoid the spurt of coffee coming at her from Josh's nose. She chewed on her thumb nail and tried not to grin as Josh wiped himself down. Donna knew she was onto something, for weeks now she'd noticed a shift in the friendship between her boss and the press secretary and so had Carol. Donna had decided to dig around a little and after many dead ends she thought a more direct approach was needed. That decision brought her to Josh's office and to her delight Josh had given her everything she needed without even saying a word. She handed Josh some Kleenex and nodded to him before edging her way to the door. "I think my work here is done so I'm just gonna…" She pointed to her desk and slipped outside before Josh could say anything to her.

Josh couldn't believe what had just happened, it had all gone by so fast that he was left a little confused by it. He and CJ had been seeing each other for three weeks now and they had managed to continue their relationship discreetly, or so they thought. If Donna had noticed something did that mean that others had also noticed a difference in them? Josh cleaned up the remains of his coffee and set off outside to try to talk to Donna a little. He found her standing in front of one of the TV's with Sam, as Josh neared them he noticed they were watching CJ's briefing. Sam turned suddenly as if to walk away and almost knocked into Josh.

"I was just coming to see you" He said to Josh patting him on the shoulder.

"I er… I need to talk to Donna first" He gently took hold of Donna's upper arm and pulled her towards his office.

"Wait" Donna pulled her arm free from his grip and turned back to the TV. "Does she look ok to you?" She asked both men but Josh thought it might have been a playful dig on his behalf.

"Listen Donna I don't know what you've…" Josh started but suddenly Sam interrupted him.

"She looks a little off colour" He stepped up and tried to take a closer look at her on the screen. Donna suddenly noticed Carol coming towards them.

"Carol, is CJ ok?" Donna walked over to her friend leaving Josh and Sam to observe CJ on the TV. Carol gave her a funny look as she picked up some notes from an intern.

"She's fine, why?" Carol headed to the press room and Donna followed her.

"She doesn't look too good" Josh said as he and Sam joined the two women on their walk.

"She hasn't said anything" Carol said to them before entering the press room and closing the door behind her. Donna shared a concerned look with Josh before she and Sam slowly made their back to the bullpen.

-x-

Press Room

CJ felt a little strange.

She closed her eyes as she tried to listen to what some one was asking her but for some reason she couldn't hear them. She opened her eyes and looked out across the room trying to focus on the blurry image in front of her. She shook her head and tried again, things were still a little unfocused and her eyes stung from the bright lights. CJ tried to concentrate on the mumble of words coming at her and heard the end of Katie Wit's question.

"I'm sorry Katie I'll have to get back to you on that" She suddenly felt a wave dizziness come over her and she gripped the podium tightly. She could hear what sounded like her name being called from the many reporters in front of her but nothing else. She turned to look over her shoulder at Carol and whispered her name. Carol made her way over to her boss. "I need you to finish up here" Carol was about to ask why but CJ had already started to move away from the podium. The reporters were shouting to CJ but she ignored them as she shut the door behind her. She leant against the wall and slid to the floor tucking her legs into her chest and resting her head on her knees. Suddenly she felt a hand on her head and she jerked her head up quickly to see who it was, the motion making her feel even more dizzy.

"Are you ok?" Josh's soft voice floated to her quietly.

"I'm fine" She tried to push herself up from the floor but her legs wouldn't co-operate with her brain. Josh knelt down beside her and rubbed a gentle hand over her knee.

"It's just me CJ" He looked into her watery eyes and smiled. "It's just me" She gave him a weak smile.

"Can you help me up?" She asked holding a hand out to him. Josh stood up and pulled her along with him, she gripped his arm tightly for support as the dizziness was there. "Walk with me?" She asked, her eyes trying to focus on him. Josh knew she was asking for help, he wrapped an arm around her waist and led her to her office. Once inside he set her down on the sofa and pushed her back down when she tried to stand up again.

"CJ you're staying there until you've been seen by a doctor" He put some pillows behind her head and covered her with the throw from the back of the sofa. As soon as Josh left CJ stood up on shaky legs and made her way over to her desk. She sat down behind it and rested her head on her desk, enjoying the cool surface on her heated skin. She could hear voices coming towards her office and hoped that Josh hadn't over reacted to a little cold. "… I don't know but she's hot and clammy and a little pale if you ask me" She heard Josh's voice as they grew nearer. She tried to lift her head when some one touched her forehead but it felt too heavy.

"CJ you need to go home, you've got a fever" CJ groaned not only at the statement but at the owner of the voice. Mrs. Bartlett. CJ gathered all of her strength and lifted herself up to look at the First Lady.

"Abbey, I'm fine. I just need to…" She stopped talking when Abbey pushed a thermometer into her open mouth and frowned at her.

"Just keep your mouth shut while I look you over" Abbey started to fuss over CJ, she checked her pulse, shone that annoying little light in her sensitive eyes, and asked her a lot of unnecessary questions. CJ looked over at Josh and noticed for the first time that Leo was standing next to him keeping a close eye on what was going on. CJ cursed inside, the last thing she wanted was for Leo to see her like this and here he was standing in her office. Abbey finally stood back from CJ and took the thermometer from her mouth, she glanced at it then shook her head at CJ. "She's going home" She said sternly to Leo.

"You're going home kid" Leo nodded to CJ and held up a hand to silence her when it looked like she was going to argue with him. "You need to rest and get better, you'll be no good here. I'll have Henry cover the briefings until you're back" He gave her a small smile then turned to leave, stopping next to Josh he leant in and whispered. "Make sure she gets home ok" Josh snapped his eyes to look at Leo, did he know too?

"Why me?" He asked following the Chief of Staff out of CJ's office.

"Because you're the Deputy Chief of Staff and because I asked you too. Besides, I know you're done. Your meeting with Hoynes was the last thing on your schedule" Josh sighed in relief that Leo was still oblivious to his relationship with CJ but from the look on Leo's face he may have thought the sigh was a sign that he was pissed about having to take CJ home.

"I'd be glad to take her home, she's safe with me" He quickly said to avoid a scolding from Leo.

"There's no need to come back in so make sure she has everything she needs, we need her back up and running as soon as possible" Leo turned away and went back to his office. Josh went back through to CJ's office to see the First Lady helping CJ stand up, he rushed over to help and slipped an arm around her holding her close to him. Abbey made sure they were ok before getting CJ's coat and helping her into it. As they were walking toward the door Carol came running in and stopped when she saw her boss.

"CJ are you ok?"

"I'm taking her home, could you get her stuff and bring it to my car for me?" Carol nodded and started to pack away CJ's things. Donna caught up with them as they were walking through the Lobby with his bag and coat.

"Leo called and said you were leaving for the day" She answered the question before Josh even formed it in his head. "And he's called you a car so you don't have to drive, it should be there waiting for you" Josh walked CJ outside and with Abbey's help put her in the car. Donna handed Josh his things as Carol turned up with CJ's and he placed them in the car before getting in too.

"Thanks guys" CJ said weakly from inside the car. The three women smiled at her and wished her well before shutting the door. Once they were alone Josh wrapped his arm around CJ's shoulders and pulled her body into his, covering her hand with his free one. CJ sighed and relaxed into his warm body, wrapping one of her arms around his middle.

"We're going home" He whispered into her hair and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm glad you're coming too" She said before she closed her eyes and allowed sleep to take over her body.

-x-

CJ's apartment

CJ sat up quickly and looked around the room trying to get her bearings. It was too dark to see much but she knew she was in her bedroom, she could smell her candles and her perfume on the air. She slowly got out of bed, pulled on her dressing gown and padded out to her front room. She could see a light shinning into the darkness from her dining room and she made her way towards it. Josh was sitting at her dining table, a half eaten sandwich and files spread out in front of him.

"Hey" She said stepping into the room, Josh turned at the sound of her voice and jumped from his chair making his way to her.

"What are you doing out of bed?" He tried to steer her back to her bedroom again. "You need to rest" CJ shrugged out of his arms and sat down at her dining table.

"I'm ok" Josh looked at her sceptically and she chuckled. "I have a little headache and I'm cold but… I'm feeling better than I did" Josh sat back down and watched her, he noticed her eyes flicker to his half eaten sandwich.

"I hope you don't mind but I made myself some food earlier…" Josh started to explain his reasons for helping himself to her things. Even thought they were dating he just didn't feel right using her things without her approval but CJ shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, help yourself to whatever you need" She squeezed his arm gently and stood up, Josh stood up too and put a hand to her lower back. "Josh, I'm ok" She looked into his smooth dark eyes and she saw concern written plainly in them. She placed a hand on his chest and kissed his cheek. "I'm just getting some aspirin" She walked toward her kitchen to find what she needed and she knew he had followed her. Josh sat at her breakfast table and watched her take the aspirin, he knew she probably hated him observing her every move but he just needed to know she was going to be ok.

"You should go back to bed"

"What are you working on?" CJ asked ignoring his last comment. She poured herself a glass of milk and walked towards her sofa, Josh followed her again.

"Nothing you need to worry about" He didn't want her thinking about work when she was ill and to be honest it really was nothing she had to worry about.

"Josh, I'm not going to break" She fixed him with a glare but it was weak. She didn't really have the energy to have this argument so she let it go and motioned for him to join her on the sofa. He hesitated a second, wanting to get her to go back to bed but decided ten minutes sitting on the sofa wouldn't hurt her. He sat down and placed her glass of milk on the coffee table before taking her into his arms. CJ sighed, tucked her legs underneath her and snuggled into Josh's chest.

"When I was a kid my dad would read to me when I was sick" Josh rubbed soothing circles on CJ's back as he spoke.

"What would he read to you?" She asked.

"Whatever was lying around my room, seriously, sometimes he'd read me a comic and he'd do different voices for all the characters" Josh chuckled and CJ could feel the vibrations through his chest.

"Michael would let me eat ice-cream and watch TV when I was ill. Most of the time the ice-cream would make me worse but I never said no to it" She smiled and sat up a little. "I'm looking forward to seeing him"

"You're still going to Michael's for Thanksgiving then?" He asked, worried about letting her drive to her brothers house.

"Yeah, nothing will keep me away. It's been over a year since I've seen Andrew and my dad, plus it's only a twenty minute drive"

"Will you let me drive you over?" He asked as he tucked a bit of hair behind her ear.

"Aren't you going to see your mother?" She asked.

"I'll cancel my flight" CJ frowned at him and shook her head.

"No, it's Thanksgiving Josh. You should be with your mother on Thanksgiving, I'll get Andrew to pick me up so you don't have to worry about me" CJ left out the fact that she didn't want him dropping everything for her, the thought of him cancelling his plans with his family to be with her was a little too much for her to handle right now.

"Ok, as long you call Andrew, even if you're feeling better I don't want you to drive" CJ nodded and looked away from him, Josh gently pulled her chin so she was looking at him. "CJ?"

"I will, I'll call Andrew" She laughed softly and pushed up from the sofa. "I'm going back to bed, you coming?"

"I'll be right there" He stood up with her and kissed her temple before pushing her in the direction of her bedroom. She moved away from him without argument, exhaustion taking away any fight she had in her. Josh watched for a while before walking towards the dining room, he finished reading the memo he had been so engrossed in when CJ had woke up then packed everything away. When he walked into CJ's bedroom she was sound asleep tucked into a tight ball. He quickly undressed and slipped in beside her, wrapped an arm around her waist and spooned against her back. He gave her a soft kissed on the back of her neck and fell a sleep listening to her gentle breathing.

-x-

CJ woke up to her phone ringing but before she had chance to answer it, it stopped.

"Hello?" Josh had jumped out of bed quickly to answer it, hoping that CJ wouldn't wake at the sound.

"No this is the right number but CJ's still asleep" He glanced back at CJ to make sure she was still asleep and shook his head when he saw her looking up at him wide awake. He covered the phone with his hand. "It's one of your brothers, he didn't say which one" He whispered to her as he handed her the phone.

"Hello?" She sat up against the pillows and closed her eyes when the room suddenly started to spin. "Michael" She smiled at Josh. "A friend" She chuckled and got out of bed, Josh watched her move around the room gathering clothes while she talked. He frowned at her when she looked at him and passed him his clothes. "Ok, see you soon" She hung up and immediately started to get dressed.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Andrew just got here, they're on their way over now" She slipped on a pair of jeans and pulled a grey sweater over her head before running a brush through her hair.

"They're coming this early?" He glanced at the clock, 6.45. Who paid some one a visit this early in the morning?

"They assumed I was going to work, they're bringing breakfast" She made her way into her bathroom and Josh followed her, trying to pull his jeans on as he went.

"Should I leave?" He asked from the doorway.

"You don't have too although they were quite intrigued to know who you were and what you were doing here so early" She smirked at him.

"Yeah, I should probably go" He made to move back to her bedroom but stopped and back tracked. Moving into the bathroom he pulled CJ toward him. "How are you feeling?" He asked taking a good look at her.

"Better" She replied and Josh thought she really did look better. She was still a little pale but her blue eyes had their usual brightness back.

"You sure?" He pressed a hand to her forehead and noticed her fever had gone, CJ gently brushed his hand away.

"I'm sure"

"Ok" He kissed her cheek and left her alone to continue her morning routine. He jogged back through to CJ's bedroom and finished dressing as fast as he could. He knew that some day he would probably meet CJ's family but he didn't feel like doing that today, there would be awkward questions about his intentions with CJ and he sure as hell wasn't prepared to answer any of them now. He found CJ in her kitchen making coffee.

"You off?" She asked grinning at him.

"Yes" He leant towards her and kissed her softly.

"Coward" She teased him and laughed.

"It's true and I accept the title proudly. I am a coward and to prove it, I'm running out the door with my tail tucked between my legs" He made his way towards the door as CJ followed him, she put her arms around his shoulders and pulled him in for a tight hug.

"Thank you for last night, you didn't have to stay" She said kissing him on the lips.

"I wanted to" He whispered and kissed her deeply. He drew back and stroked her cheek before opening the door. Josh heard CJ gasp as he walked into something solid. Josh closed his eyes and cursed inside, opening his eyes he saw a broad chest. He stumbled back a little and looked up into a mans smiling face, god he was tall.

"Where you going pal? We brought breakfast" The man put his hand on Josh's shoulder and pushed him back into CJ's apartment. He noticed another man enter behind the first, slightly smaller but still very tall, Josh groaned inside.

The brothers!

The two men rounded on Josh, their stern faces inches from his and he felt like he was in school again, about to beat up by the jocks. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard CJ clear her throat. The two men looked at the source of the sound and their faces broke into smiles as they caught a glimpse of their sister. They both reached for her and crushed her between them, hugging her tightly. Josh could hear CJ laughing and he smiled at the sight of brothers and sister reunited after such a long interval.

"Guys, you're killing me" CJ laughed when the hug brought her feet off the ground. Her brothers let her go and the smaller man went to fetch the bag he had dropped at the door. The taller brother grabbed CJ's shoulders and took a good look at her.

"You look like hell" He said after a moment and CJ rolled her eyes.

"Thanks Michael, it's good to see you too" She pulled away from him and made her way over to Josh who berated himself for not taking the opportunity to escape. "This is Josh Lyman" She said wrapping an arm around him.

"Hi" Josh was pleased that he managed to squeeze anything out at all but wished it hadn't been so high pitched. They shook hands and Josh hoped Michael hadn't broken any of his fingers with his strong hand shake.

"It's good to meet you Josh" He pulled his brother up beside him who also shook his hand. "This is Andrew" Josh glanced nervously at CJ and she smiled at him reassuringly, before she led Andrew to her kitchen to sort out breakfast. Josh rocked back and fourth on his feet as Michael sized him up.

"So who are you?" He asked Josh.

"I'm Josh Lyman, I work with CJ at the White House" He answered, better to get this over with as quickly as possible, he thought.

"Yeah, I know that but who are you to my sister and what are you doing here?"

"Well CJ's not very well, so I brought her home yesterday and I stayed to make sure she was ok" Josh swallowed and thought it was better to leave out the fact that he'd shared a bed with her too.

"You still haven't told me who you are to my sister" Josh could feel him self starting to sweat a little bit, he never did well under these kind of conditions.

"Hey I think I smell coffee…" Josh started lamely, he tried to skirt around CJ's brother to get to the safety of the kitchen but Michael stood firmly in front of him. Josh laughed nervously.

"Are you dating my sister?" Michael asked him.

"Er… yes…" Josh held his breath, unsure of what was going to come.

"Well ok then" Michael walked towards Josh and gave him a friendly slap him on the back, Josh stumbled slightly from the force of it.

"That's it?" Josh asked a little uncertain at this sudden change.

"Yeah, I was just having a little fun" Michael gave a full belly laugh and slung an arm over Josh's shoulders, guiding him towards the kitchen. "Listen, I know that if you hurt CJ she'll do a much better job at beating the crap out of you than me or Andrew could do. I tell ya, if you're dating my sister, I can guarantee we'll become fast allies" Michael laughed again as they entered the kitchen.

"Messing with another of CJ's boyfriends Michael?" Andrew asked handing a cup of coffee to both men as they entered. CJ was sitting on a stool at her breakfast table sipping a glass of water and reading the paper, she seemed perfectly content with what was playing out in front of her.

"I was playing nice don't worry" Michael said grinning at his brother. "Jeannie's not eating?" He asked Andrew as he offered Josh a bagel. Josh frowned at the name unsure of who they were talking about. He searched his brain trying to remember if CJ had mentioned anyone having the name Jeannie.

"She said she wasn't hungry" Andrew said as he sat next to CJ.

"I'm sitting right here and I can talk for myself, thank you" CJ said from behind the paper. Andrew and Michael shared an amused glance before tucking into their food. Josh pondered the nickname a while and promised himself he would ask her about it later. "I just don't feel like eating" She put the paper down and glanced at Josh.

"You ok?" He asked noticing she'd grown paler again. She shook her head and moved off the stool.

"My headaches back and I'm sweating" Josh moved over to her as she pulled at the neck of her sweater and touched her face, she was clammy again.

"You need to go back to bed" Josh said. Michael and Andrew had also stood up, they hovered behind Josh and CJ groaned at all the attention.

"I'm ok Josh I don't need to go back to bed yet"

"You need to relax and rest so you can…"

"I'm going to sit on my couch and relax with my brothers. I'll be fine" She squeezed his hand and glanced at the clock. "It's 7.45 Josh you should be going" She said softly.

"You want rid of me?" He chuckled and CJ smiled, he said a quick goodbye to CJ's brothers before they walked towards the front door leaving Michael and Andrew in the kitchen.

"I don't want rid of you but you still have to go or you'll be late for work" She said answering his earlier question.

"It's the day before Thanksgiving I don't…" CJ covered his lips with hers in a gentle kiss.

"Call me if you need me to come in" She said pulling back.

"We won't" He kissed her cheek and neck.

"Yeah, but if anything…" Josh put a finger to her lips, silencing her.

"You're staying home, resting, getting better and catching up with your brothers" He kissed her again and pulled her into his body, burring his head into her neck. "I don't know if I'll get to see you again before I go home"

"I know it's ok" She pulled back from him and wrapped her arms around her body.

"Can I call you tonight?" CJ laughed.

"Sure" She beamed at him. "You know you don't need to ask"

"Ok" He leaned in and kissed her one last time before leaving. CJ turned from the door to see her brothers grinning at her. She rolled her eyes, here it goes, she thought as she moved to sit on her sofa.

"Please remember I'm not well" She said as she curled herself into a ball and mentally prepared her answers for the questions her brothers were going to throw at her. She laughed a little inside thinking that these two men now sitting in front of her were the reason she was so good at her job. It was going to be an eventful Thanksgiving this year.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it. **

**Please leave a review or pm me, all comments are greatly appreciated! xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

**I wasn't going to write this chapter because I thought it might be too much like the Thanksgiving one I've just wrote, but I decided that seeing as though Christmas is coming I would write a fluffy Christmas piece anyway. So enjoy! **

**Ok so I did a little search into Jeannie. I first read it in **_**Dark History**_** by ****Vegawriter**** and I've just found out that she borrowed it from ****DaniBannani's**_**Atonement**_**. Two wonderful stories about CJ and Toby's relationship, if you haven't read them then I suggest you give them a read because they really are great! Both can be found on . **

**Thank you to ****thisismyname2**** for reminding me of Vega's story. **

**Hope you enjoy it and please leave a review :D**

**Calliope Jae x**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 7: It's Christmas!**

CJ's apartment: Christmas Eve

CJ was laying on the floor in her front room laughing.

Laughing so hard her stomach hurt.

She was on her back, her hands covering her face with happy tears streaming from her eyes. Josh was standing in front of her, a towel wrapped around his hips and a gloomy look on his face.

"Let me see it again" She said through tears, she sat up and tucked her legs underneath her, a grin on her face.

"No" He crossed his arms over his bare chest and scowled at her. "It was never meant to be worn" He said sulkily.

"You lost!" She shouted joyfully still sporting a huge grin. She pointed to the cards on the floor. "My flush beat your three of a kind, it's time to pay up"

"I already gave you the goods, you don't get to see it again" He pulled the towel around his hips, making sure it was secure.

"I'll make it worth your while" She teased leaning back and stretching her legs out in front of her. Josh couldn't help himself as his eyes travelled hungrily up their length. She was still wearing his shirt from their previous tumble and from his vantage point he could see she hadn't put her panties back on after he'd ripped them from her earlier. He felt himself grow hot, not only from the view but also from the promise her last comment held. He sighed and pulled the towel away from his body showing her the cute reindeer thong that had been sent to him from one of his groupies.

"There" He said holding out his arms for her to see. CJ laughed again and knelt up clapping her hands together in delight.

"Make it sing!" She said biting her lip.

"CJ…" He had a slight warning in his voice, he wanted to get out of this thing.

"But it's the best part…" She bounced on her knees and Josh couldn't help but smile as he was caught up in her excitement too. He pushed the reindeer's nose and out sang 'Rudolf the red nose reindeer'. CJ rolled to the floor laughing again as Josh started to dance to the song. Once the music stopped CJ stood up, breathing heavily from so much laughing and made her over to Josh.

"That was just… oh Josh…" She chuckled again and kissed him. "I think I should write a thank you note to whoever it was that sent you this" Josh scowled and it only made CJ laugh harder. She took his hand and started to lead him to her bedroom.

"What are we doing now?" He asked hesitantly, following her.

"I'm going to give you your Christmas present" She said turning to him and walking backwards to her bed.

"But we said that we weren't doing presents…" He trailed off as he watched CJ pull out a large box from her closet.

"This is for both of us" She smiled mischievously at him and placed the box on the bed next to him. Josh tried to open it but CJ slapped his hands away. "Not yet" She knelt down in front of him and stroked his thighs. Josh could feel parts of his body start to stir as she trailed her tongue across his body.

"So what's in the box?" he asked pulling her up to straddle his hips, she pushed his shoulders gently causing him to fall back onto the bed. CJ leant over him, her hair falling into her face and giving Josh an ample view of her breasts under his shirt.

"You'll find out soon" She said, her voice low and sexy as she ground her pelvis in his erection.

"_Rudolf the red nose reindeer, had a very shinny nose!"_ The pressure from CJ's movement had caused the reindeer to sing again and she started to laugh. Josh pushed her off him and growled.

"God damn it!" He tore the hideous underwear from his body turned back to see CJ wiping tears from her face and smiling at him. "What are you laughing at?" He said stalking towards her, now completely naked.

"Nothing" She said unsuccessfully trying to keep a straight face.

"That's it!" He shouted and lunged for her, CJ yelped and jumped from the bed. She tried to run towards the door but Josh grabbed her by the waist and they tumbled back onto the bed, laughing. He moved so he was on top of her and kissed her passionately, he ran his hands through her hair and stroked her face.

"Merry Christmas Claudia Jean" He said looking into her sparkling eyes. She smiled contentedly at him and placed a kiss on the tip of his nose.

"Merry Christmas Joshua"

-x-

CJ's apartment: Christmas morning

Josh woke up in CJ's bed to the sound of voices coming from the other side of the door. He looked around the room and realised CJ had already got out of bed, she probably had the TV on. He glanced at the clock which read 6.13am and groaned. He hadn't been up this early on Christmas day since he was 12 but he knew CJ had planned to fly to Dayton early today to get to the family gathering at her fathers house. He groaned wanting to fall back to sleep but threw the covers off him and sat up. He searched around the room for his clothes before remembering he'd took them off in the dining room after diner last night. He sighed and went to find something to wear. He pulled CJ's bathrobe on and made his way out to find CJ. As he entered the front room Josh found himself looking down at a small child. The boy, who couldn't have been more than 8, looked up at him with curiosity.

"Hello" Josh said eyeing the boy suspiciously. Who the hell was this?

"Hi" The boy just stared at him and said nothing more. Josh pressed his lips together and clasped his hands in front of him.

"So what's your name kid?" Josh asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Ben" He replied.

"Ah, Ben!" A little light bulb sparked in Josh's head, Ben was Michael's youngest child. He stared at the child a little longer and realisation suddenly hit him. Why wasn't he in Dayton?

"Ben, what are you… oh hello" A petite blond woman was now standing next to Ben. Josh didn't know what to say, had something happened while he'd been asleep?

"Hi" Josh grimaced in side wishing the ground open up and swallow him. The woman smiled, clearly amused at the whole situation.

"CJ?" She called, pulling Ben away from Josh and leading him to the kitchen. Josh scrambled around the room looking for his clothes before he could embarrass himself anymore. All of a sudden he heard CJ's laugh ring through the kitchen and a few second later she appeared next to him with his clothes neatly folded in her arms.

"What the hell is going on?" He whispered taking his clothes from her and running into the bedroom. CJ followed him and closed the door.

"We had a slight change of plans" She said apologetically, she sat on her bed and watched Josh dress hurriedly.

"A slight change?" He asked fixing her with a glare. "What does that mean exactly?"

"Well that there was a slight change in plans" When Josh continued to glare at her she continued. "Michael, in his infinite wisdom, decided it would be fun to surprise me for Christmas…" She paused giving Josh time to absorb it "… and that ultimately resulted in having my whole family turn up on my doorstep at 6am" She let it out quickly glancing at Josh for his reaction. He stood completely motionless, a stunned expression on his face. CJ got up and started to help him fasten his buttons on his shirt.

"They're here?" He asked in a horrified whisper.

"Yes" She winced as he turned wide-eyed to look at her.

"Your family needs to stop surprising you" He said thinking back to Thanksgiving. "Is your dad here?" He asked hoping she would say no however one glance at her face told him all he needed to know.

"Your dad's here?" His voice went up an octave and CJ winced. He felt he should be angry but found he couldn't be when he looked into her eyes and saw the apology there.

"I'm sorry Josh, I didn't know they were coming" She pulled his tie around his neck and fastened it for him.

"It's ok" he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a light kiss. "It's just in the future… they need to call a head. No more surprises!" CJ smiled and pressed her lips to his softly.

"I'll talk to them" She drew back from him and allowed him to finish dressing. "I'll be right outside" She made to leave her bedroom but Josh stood in front of the door, blocking her exit. "Josh?"

"I can't walk back out there without you" He said grasping her shoulders.

"What?" She chuckled.

"Please just… just wait till I'm dressed… then we can leave together, ok?"

"Ok" CJ had a puzzled look on her face but Josh didn't have time to notice as he rushed to find his pants and socks. A few minutes later they left her bedroom and wandered into her kitchen where the family had gathered. Everyone turned to look at them and CJ took hold of his hand.

"Everyone this is Josh" CJ said and everyone greeted him with a hello and a merry Christmas and Josh replied in kind. CJ's father seemed to appear from nowhere in front of Josh.

"Josh Lyman" Talmidge Cregg was just as intimidating as Sam had told him. "I've heard a lot about you" He said shaking his hand, Josh glanced at CJ. "Not from CJ, from her brothers" He saw Michael and Andrew sitting at the breakfast table, they gave him a thumbs up and smiled.

"Oh?" Josh hoped that CJ's overly enthusiastic brothers had not landed him in trouble.

"Yes" Tal said wrapping an arm around his daughter and pulling her close to him. "Said you took care of my little girl when she was sick" Josh breathed a sigh of relief and made a mental note to thank Michael and Andrew later.

"Yes Sir, I did what I could" Josh smiled at CJ and she winked at him, this really wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. Tal beamed at the young man in front of him.

"Well I'm sure we'll be having a nice little chat soon Mr. Lyman!" Josh felt his stomach drop when he realised this was just the beginning, he hadn't got off lightly at all. Tal let go of CJ and pushed Josh towards the rest of the family to make introductions. "Of course you know CJ's brothers, this is Lucy, Michael's wife" Josh nodded to the petit blond from earlier.

"Yes we had the pleasure meeting in the front room but I have to say you're more appropriately dressed now than you were" She laughed and patted him on the shoulder. Tal gave Josh a questioning glance and Josh knew he'd be answering it later.

"This here is Andrew's wife, Charlotte" Josh shook her hand.

"Everyone calls me Lottie" She said brushing a strand of bright red hair out of her eyes.

"And these are the next generation" Tal said indicating to his grand-children. "This is Hogan and Ben" Josh shook hands with both children.

"I've heard a lot about the two of you"

"And I've heard a lot about you too" Hogan said grinning. Josh glanced at Michael who shrugged then he spun around to find CJ.

"How about we make breakfast?" She asked clapping her hands together and avoiding Josh's stares. The Cregg family agreed jovially and the women ushered the men along with CJ and the kids into the front room while they served the food.

"You talked to Hogan about me?" Josh whispered leaning into CJ's ear while he helped her to set the table in her dining room.

"Not exactly" She said moving away from him. "She asked me some questions and I answered them"

"Like what?" He asked following her closely, she was not getting out of this lightly.

"Well she wanted to know if we were having sex" She said turning to face him.

"And you told her?" Josh asked a little stunned that she would discuss such things with her niece.

"Yes" She circled her hands around his neck. "I didn't give her details Josh, she's 14 years old. It was just innocent girl talk, you have nothing to worry about"

"Good, cause I was uncomfortable with the thought of Hogan knowing how good I am in bed" His hands grabbed her hips and drew her to him.

"And just how good do you think you are?" She brought her mouth close to his and brushed her lips teasingly over his. His lips tingled from the feeling of her mouth so close to his.

"Judging by your reactions I'd say I was epic" He grinned and pressed his lips to hers.

"You know, this really isn't the sort of thing I want to see on Christmas day" Hogan was leaning against the wall watching them with a grin on her face.

"Then I suggest you go some place else" CJ gave Josh a quick peck before removing herself from his arms. She continued to set the table as Hogan sat down, she propped her head up on her hand, her eyes never leaving her aunt. "How long were you standing there?" CJ asked her.

"Long enough to hear Josh say he was epic" Hogan giggled and leaned across the table still watching her aunt. It was clear to Josh just how much this young girl idolised CJ. "Is he?" Josh's attention was drawn to the teenager's question, was this really happening?

"Don't you have present to open?" CJ asked trying to divert Hogan's attention.

"Yeah, but this is way more interesting" CJ laughed at her niece and slipped an arm around her.

"I swear, you're just like your father" CJ lead them out to the front room where the men were watching TV.

"Funny, dad says I'm exactly like you" Josh watched the two women share a smile and CJ kissed the top of Hogan's head. CJ sat on the floor and Josh sat on the sofa opposite her. Hogan sat next to CJ, imitating the way she reclined back on her hands. Ben was sat in the middle of his presents itching to open them, he kept glancing at his father while he picked at the wrapping of a particularly large box. CJ caught him tear a piece of paper from it and pulled him into her lap, he giggled and looked shyly at his disapproving father.

"You know the rules Ben, no presents until we've eaten breakfast" He laid back against CJ's chest and she tickled his belly. Josh watched her from his seat and marvelled at the difference in her when she was with her family. She seemed free and more relaxed than Josh had ever seen her. Her whole family was like that, they were happy and content in their lives. As he observed the people before him he suddenly felt a tightening in his chest, he ached to be spending this holiday with his father and to see Joanie's face lighting up like CJ's was now.

Josh was jolted from his sombre thoughts when Lucy and Lottie announced that breakfast was ready. Everyone stood up and made their way towards the dining room and Josh reached for CJ.

"I kinda feel like I'm intruding here Ceej" She chuckled and squeezed his hand.

"Everyone is welcome here Josh. Today you're part of the family" They walked over to the table and Ben jumped up and pulled out a seat for CJ to sit on. She glanced at Michael and Lucy as she sat down.

"Grandma Hanley has been teaching him some manners" Lucy said, referring to her mother. CJ smiled sweetly at her nephew and kissed his forehead.

"What a gentleman" She exclaimed and Ben puffed out his chest with pride as he sat down in his own chair. Josh sat down next to her and leant into her ear.

"I've just been out-shone by an 8 year old" He shook his head and CJ laughed placing a hand on his thigh, giving him a gentle squeeze.

"Bet that was embarrassing for you" She said offering him the plate of pancakes.

"You know? I was hoping for a little support there CJ, just a little something to boost the ego" He poured an ample amount of syrup on his pancakes before passing it over to Andrew.

"From what I hear your ego doesn't need a boost" CJ choked on a bit of pancake as she looked over at Hogan. Thankfully the noisy conversation going on at the table made it impossible for anyone else to hear Hogan's comment. Josh patted CJ on the back until she stopped coughing and handed her a glass of water.

"You ok over there Jeannie?" Asked Andrew from the other end of the table.

"Yeah, I'm fine" She shot a death glare at Hogan before turning a smiling face to Lucy and Lottie. "You've out done yourselves this year, these pancakes are amazing!"

The rest of breakfast passed by uneventfully but Josh noticed Hogan kept glancing at him and CJ as if trying to pick up on any more juicy gossip. As soon as the last pancake had been eaten Ben jumped up and ran to his father.

"Presents!" He jumped up and down on the spot, his arms stretched in the air.

"Okay, but remember all those lessons Grandma Hanley's been giving you?" Michael asked, wanting his son to ask properly. Ben rolled his eyes a little.

"Daddy, it's Christmas" He pouted his lip and turned on the puppy dog eyes for his dad. Michael and Andrew laughed, they looked at Tal who was smiling.

"Wonder where he leant that from?" Tal asked his sons but he was looking at CJ.

"We've had a good teacher" Hogan said smiling wickedly at the others.

"And she taught us well!" Ben chimed up now standing next to CJ. Everyone was looking to the tall woman at the end of the table and she stood up.

"What can I say?" She said innocently. She shrugged her shoulders and winked at Hogan. "They learnt from the best" Hogan and Ben burst into laughter and they pulled CJ over to the tree in her front room, the others followed behind watching CJ with the kids. Josh lingered behind, observing from the dining room doorway. This was family time and he didn't want to get in the way, he already felt like he'd taken advantage of their hospitality enough as it was. He noticed Lottie stray away from the group and make her way towards him.

"If you ever wondered what she was like when she was younger then there's no need. She's always been like this, she's hasn't changed" Lottie said standing next to him.

"You knew her when she was younger?" He asked turning to look at her.

"Yeah, I've been with Andrew since high school. I've known CJ since she was 15" She chuckled at Ben's excited face as he and CJ started to put one of his toys together.

"Can I ask you something?" Lottie nodded her head. "Why does everyone call her Jeannie?"

"They don't" She laughed a little at Josh's confused face. "It's just her brothers. I think her mother used to call her that when she was a kid and they just kept it going" She paused and looked at Josh. "She doesn't let anyone else use it though. Except, there was this one guy, he called her Jeannie"

"Who was he?" Josh asked.

"Some one she used to work with along time ago" She searched her brain for more information about him. "I can't remember his name and they always said there was nothing going on between them but if you ask me, there was something there" She winked at Josh and he found himself becoming more and more curious about this mystery guy.

"What happened to him?"

"He met some one and she didn't like how close CJ was to her guy. They just drifted apart I guess. Tal always liked him though, I think he wanted to CJ to marry him" Lottie chuckled. Josh smiled but some reason he felt uncomfortable, there was something about this story that seemed so familiar to him but he just couldn't work out what. He glanced at the clock on the wall and realised it was time for him to be going.

"CJ?" He called to her softly and she turned to look at him, her eyes sparkling from excitement. She stood up and brushed bits of coloured wrapping paper off her jeans and made her way over to him. She circled her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. He smiled against her lips.

"What's up?" She asked.

"I just wanted to say bye before I left" She jerked back from him and frowned.

"You're leaving?" Josh noticed some of the sparkle in her eyes had gone.

"Yeah, I told Leo I'd be in today"

"But its Christmas" She looked into his dark eyes and laced her fingers with his.

"I know, but I promised Leo I'd be in" CJ nodded her head and stepped back from him. "I'm gonna grab my stuff" Josh left CJ where she was and moved around the apartment gathering his things.

"Hey Josh why don't you come join us?" Hogan was watching him from she sat on the floor. As she addressed him the rest of the family looked over at him.

"Thanks Hogan, but I have to go" He said.

"You're leaving?" Tal asked standing up and making his over to Josh.

"Yes Sir, I have to go into work" He said shaking the older mans hand.

"It's Christmas Josh, you should be with people" Tal said glancing at CJ over Josh's shoulder.

"Why don't you come back tonight?" Asked Lucy from her place on the sofa. "We usually play games after we've eaten" Josh smiled.

"That's very nice of you but I think I've out-stayed my welcome" At their protests Josh turned around to look at CJ for help. From the look on her face he knew she wanted him to stay too but she stepped forward.

"Guys, he has to go into work. There are some things the Chief of Staff needs to take care of and Josh needs to be there to help" The Cregg family wished Josh a Merry Christmas and he received a few pats on the back before they left him and CJ a lone.

"Thanks" Josh said as they walked to the door. "I just… I didn't want to take advantage of your hospitality" CJ chuckled as she opened the door for him.

"You know how ridiculous that sounds right?" She placed a kiss on his lips and Josh smiled at her when she drew away.

"Yeah I do" They kissed again and Josh tangled his fingers in her hair.

"Don't work to hard" She said as she pulled his scarf tighter around his neck. "Merry Christmas Josh" He kissed her nose and tapped it lightly with his finger before he walked down the hall. He turned to look at her walking backwards towards the elevator.

"Merry Christmas Ceej"

**

* * *

**

**Well there it is… hope you had fun reading it!**

**Please leave a review or pm me, all comments are greatly appreciated! xxx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi all, sorry for taking so long on the update. This chapter was really hard to write and even after 6 rewrites I'm still not as happy as I would like to be with it. But I think this is as good as it's going to get so I hope you like it.**

**Thank you to everyone that has reviewed, I normally like to reply to peoples reviews but I've been super busy so I didn't get chance to. So I'm sorry about that too. **

**Anyway hope you enjoy this, please leave a review as I think I could really use some feed back on this chapter. **

**Enjoy! **

**Calliope Jae x**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Things could be great**

Toby entered his apartment and dropped his things on the floor in a pile. He shrugged out of his jacket and headed for his bedroom where he changed into jeans and a sweater he'd had for years. He was heading for his fridge when he heard a knock on his door. He glanced at the clock and smiled. He opened his door to find CJ leaning against the wall opposite him, wearing the leather jacket he knew she loved.

"Hi" He said not at all surprised to find her there. She pushed past him and entered his apartment without waiting for an invitation. She took off her jacket and walked into his kitchen, she headed straight for the liqueur cabinet and pulled out his best bottle of whiskey. Toby said nothing as he followed her through his apartment but he found two glasses and joined her at his breakfast table. CJ poured them both a generous amount and took a big gulp of hers. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the burning feeling in her chest from the liquid, she sighed and licked her lips preparing herself for what was going to come.

"Hi" She said after a little while, opening her eyes she saw Toby taking a small sip of his own drink eyeing her suspiciously.

"Hi" He played with his cup and waited for her to talk, he could tell something was bothering her. He watched her carefully and he could almost see the cogs turning in her head as she mulled her problem over in her mind.

"I've been sleeping with Josh" She blurted it out quickly and from the surprise on her face, Toby thought she might not have meant to. He stared at her for a few seconds and chewed on his bottom lip. The truth was he was stunned, it wasn't even close to what he thought she was going to say to him.

"I'm sorry?" It was the only thing he could think to say.

"You heard me Toby and I'm not saying it again" Toby took a long drink from his glass and cleared his throat. He stood up and paced around the kitchen, CJ watched him and felt her stomach churn at the guilt building deep inside.

"How long?" He asked not looking at her.

"A little over three months" She said quietly her eyes still following him. He was quiet as he contemplated the new information, he stopped suddenly and turned to her.

"The dates… they were with… Josh?" Even though Toby had covered his hesitation she had still noticed the way he had choked on Josh's name. She had hoped that any feelings that may have flowed between them in the past had gone, but looking at her old friend she could see that he hadn't quite moved on. The emotions he had so skilfully hidden from her were now glistening in his eyes.

"Yes" She slid from her chair and moved over to him, hovering at his side. She took hold of his hand and she could almost feel the pain radiating from his body. "Toby…" She whispered his name trying to force away the tears from her eyes.

"Don't…" He snatched his hand away from hers and turned towards the window. "Are you just… is…is it just sex?" He asked, his back still to her. CJ stood where he had left her, her arms wrapped tight around her chest trying to make the tightening there disappear.

"No" She watched as Toby's body stiffened and he suddenly spun around to face her.

"Ceej…" He leaned a hand against the window frame and rubbed a hand over the back of his head.

"I know" She started to move closer to him but he held up a hand, halting her movement.

"You always said we couldn't…" He paused and turned his sad eyes toward her own.

"I know Toby" She stepped towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, ignoring his tense body. He stood completely still staring at the wall behind CJ as she hugged him into her warmth, he could feel his emotions breaking in his betrayed body. His arms crept up her lengthy back and returned the hug.

"You always said you couldn't be with someone that you… that you worked with" Had she lied to him all those years ago when they were in New York? Had she not loved him as much as he did her?

"I know"

"Is this, why is this different?" He drew back from her a little so he could see her face.

"I don't know" She said as a single tear ran down her cheek. Toby brushed it away with his thumb and cradled her face in gentle hands. He looked into her eyes but said nothing, he didn't need too. He could see everything so clearly in their blue depths, he knew she had loved him in New York, he knew she still loved him. As he held her close to him he knew he would always be important to her, that he would always be in her heart. It hurt him to know that she had moved on without him but he took some comfort in knowing she would always be here next to him. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and hugged her again before gently pushing her away. CJ smiled at him and she knew they would be ok, they always were. They had been through much worse than this and yet here they were, always still together in the end. Toby picked up her jacket and threw it to her, she caught it and gave him a puzzled look.

"We're going out" He said putting on his own coat. CJ laughed softly, opened the front door and stepped out. As they walked down the hall she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and felt his arm snake its way around her waist. Just as they were about to step out into the cold night, Toby stopped her and turned her to face him.

"Jeannie…" She looked into his eyes and smiled sadly.

"Me too Tobus" He nodded his head and they stood in silence for a few seconds as Toby tried to end this chapter in his life. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, it was harder than he thought it would be, there were still so many pages left to fill in. When he opened his eyes again he saw her standing there in front of him and he could tell she knew what he was trying to do.

"Give it time" Was all she said before taking his hand and pulling him out into the night air.

-x-

It was almost 1 am when CJ arrived back at her apartment building. She was exhausted. Talking to Toby had drained her last ounce of energy. She thought telling him about Josh would have made the guilt disappear and she had been right, what she hadn't expected was the gaping hole it would leave behind. The peaceful but sad feeling she had as they left Toby's apartment was short lived. When they were drinking they talked more about Josh. He hadn't said that he didn't want her to be with Josh but she knew it was what he was getting at. CJ wanted to hear him say he was happy for her… but it never came. She felt crushed by it, something so small but it was so important to her. She needed his support.

As she got out of the elevator she stopped at the sight of a body curled up outside her door. She smiled slightly at the sight but felt a renewed sense of guilt as she wished he wasn't there tonight. She knelt down in front of him and touched his face gently.

"Josh?" Her tone was quiet but firm as she tried to rouse him from his sleep. He opened one eye wearily before bolting upright as he realised who was sitting next to him.

"CJ!" He said standing up quickly and tugging her up with him. "Where have you been?" He asked following her into her apartment.

"I went to see Toby" She walked into her kitchen and poured herself a glass of water, she took a big gulp. She had consumed a large amount of alcohol in the past two hours and it had left her thirsty.

"Yeah?" Josh made his way over to her, he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck.

"Yeah" She wriggled out of his grasp and stepped away from him. She avoided his puzzled eyes and felt the guilt reach a whole new level. He didn't deserve the cold shoulder, he hadn't done anything wrong but she just wasn't in the mood to have him all over her.

"Everything ok?" He asked taking a tentative step to her.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" She asked a little defensively, she wasn't sure why she was being so hostile towards him.

"I don't know… I was just asking Ceej" He watched her drain her glass and put it down on the counter a little harder than necessary. She turned to face him and felt herself melt at his concerned and hurt expression.

"Well you don't need too cause everything's fine" Her tone was softer but it still had an edge to it that made Josh worry. She had been feeling guilty about keeping Toby in the dark for weeks now and he had told her to go talk to him. He thought it would make things better for her but it only seemed to have made things worse.

"CJ?" He followed her out of the kitchen and stood in the doorway of her bedroom as she changed. "What happened with Toby?"

"Nothing" She shed her clothes quickly, leaving them on the floor as she put her pyjamas on. Josh wanted her to talk to him, obviously something had happened and he wanted to know about it. She padded around her room as if he wasn't there and Josh could feel himself getting angrier the more she ignored him. He stepped fully into her bedroom and gently took hold of her arm as she walked past him.

"Claudia Jean?"

"What?!" She half shouted at him as she spun around angrily, he could see tears in her eyes but she was too irritated for him to help her. She forcefully tugged her arm out of his grasp and turned away from him, she wiped away a stray tear hoping Josh wouldn't notice. He truly didn't understand what was going on here, he felt like they were fighting about something only he didn't know what.

"Should I just go?" He asked dejectedly. He watched CJ take a deep breath before turning around to face him.

"No" Her voice was quiet and shaky when she spoke. He wrapped his arms around her when she moved towards him and she rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Josh, I just…"

"What happened tonight?" He pushed her away but held her shoulders tightly to stop her from moving away.

"Nothing" She struggled against his hold but he kept her close to him.

"CJ, I know you're lying to me" She stilled in his arms and looked down to the floor.

"Josh please just…"

"What happened?" He tilted her chin so she was looking at him eye to eye.

"We just… talked…" She closed her eyes and sighed. "We talked and he…"

"He didn't like it?" He stroked her face but when she didn't respond to his question he tried again. "He didn't like us together?" She let out a mirthless laugh and looked at the floor again.

"I don't think many people will" She said quietly. Josh stood for a second and pondered her comment, was she regretting this decision? Had Toby managed to talk her out of this?

"So… what does that mean?"

"What?" She looked up into his eyes and Josh dropped his arms down by his side.

"What does that mean?" He asked again.

"I don't know" CJ was confused at his line of questioning, she didn't know what he was going on about.

"Do think this was a mistake?" She could see the hurt written so clearly over his face and panic suddenly filled her body.

"No" She took hold of his arms much like he had done to her earlier but he stepped away from her.

"I mean it would explain your behaviour tonight" His voice grew louder and his body tensed.

"No Josh…" She ran to him and fought with his flailing arms as he shouted.

"Brushing me off, trying to push me away…"

"Josh would you just stop!" She gripped his face in her hands and brought her head to his so they were almost nose to nose. "This wasn't a mistake! I'm having fun with you Josh, I like being with you and I love talking to you and… my talk with Toby just brought back a lot of…" She trailed off letting out a breath.

"If he…" She pressed a kiss to his lips cutting him off.

"Toby was just being… Toby. There's nothing more to it than that Josh" CJ felt terrible for lying to Josh but she decided it wasn't something he needed to know, it would cause a lot more trouble than it was worth and she would rather avoid all that right now.

"But you're ok?" He asked finally calming down at her gentle voice.

"I'm fine" Josh hated the word 'fine' but he'd let her off this once.

"We're ok?" He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a tight hug.

"We're great" She whispered into his shoulder, truly believing that they would be.

-x-

The next morning Josh was up before CJ, he made fresh coffee and toasted some bread for her when he heard her emerge from the bedroom. They ate breakfast together quietly and Josh observed her closely, she seemed relaxed but he knew she was thinking about last night too.

"CJ?" He took hold of her hand and played with her fingers. "About last night… I just wanted to say…" She brought up her free hand and placed her fingers on his lips silencing his words. She smiled.

"Don't worry about it Josh, you have nothing to apologise for so don't do it. I was just a little down and I shouldn't have taken it out on you" She kissed his lips softly and squeezed the hand she still held in hers. "Our first fight" She said smirking, she stood up and cleaned away the dishes they'd used. When she turned around she saw Josh looking at her with a concerned look, she chuckled and kissed the top of his head as she passed him. "It was bound to happen sooner or later" He caught her hand as she started to walk away and pulled her back to him.

"Are you sure…" She kissed him and he swallowed his words.

"We're good, Josh" She pulled herself away from him and headed for the shower.

Josh remained where he was at her breakfast table deep in thought. CJ seemed to be dealing with their fight a lot better than he was. He felt his stomach roll and he began to get nervous, was it just an act? He couldn't tell if her brave face was real or not, if he had learnt anything while working with CJ it was that she was a master at deflecting and disguise. She'd said it herself once, she could make anyone believe whatever she wanted them too.

Josh's pager rang through the air jolting him from his thoughts. He glanced at it quickly before heading into the bathroom. He watched CJ through the frosted glass of her shower cubicle, clouds of steam billowed around him as he observed her figure. His eyes travelled the blurry outline of her back as she arched back rinsing the fruity smelling shampoo from her hair.

"Ceej?" She quickly splashed water over her face before sliding the shower door open slightly, careful not to let any of the water out. He was leaning against the sink, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked tense and CJ wanted to shake him out of it. She knew he was still worried about their fight and even more worried about what had happened with Toby.

"You going?" She asked wiping water from her eyes.

"Yeah, I just wanted to say bye before I left. There's some things I need to get done before senior staff" He couldn't help himself as he watched small drops of water run down her neck and he felt a desire to trace their path with his tongue. He forced his eyes to hers and he saw that she was smiling. He cleared his throat before he spoke again. "I didn't want you to think I was running out on you or anything" Her smile turned into a frown.

"Why would I think that?" She asked.

"I don't know… I just… last night we…" CJ let out a frustrated sigh. She was hoping that Josh would have forgotten about all this but now she could tell that he wasn't going to leave the subject alone until he'd had chance to question her.

"Josh if you want to talk about this more then we can, tonight after work". He did want to talk about it, but he wanted to do it now. He glanced at his watch, he had 40 minutes before staff and he needed to make a few phone calls. He nodded before carefully leaning in to kiss her

"I'll see you later" He smiled at her before leaving, their talk would have to wait until tonight.

-x-

During senior staff Josh watched CJ out of the corner of his eye. He noticed nothing out of the ordinary in her behaviour and she seemed perfectly happy when Toby arrived. He noticed their friendship was as easy as it always was and Josh couldn't help but think that last night her problem was with him and not Toby. He suddenly felt sick. Had Toby said something about him last night? Maybe he didn't want them to be together. Was he trying to break them up? A voice deep down told him he was being paranoid but he couldn't help himself. He continued to think about the situation through the rest of the meeting and once it was finished he tried to get CJ's attention but failed. Had she ignored him? Or was he reading too much into it? She walked briskly down the hall but slowed when Toby called her name. As he reached her Josh saw him place his hand on her lower back and felt a wave of jealousy wash over him. He watched them talk, their heads bent closely together and when CJ threw her head back and laughed at something Toby had said he felt the sudden urge to split them up.

"Hey CJ" Josh made his way over to them and Toby stepped away from them after CJ squeezed his arm gently. Toby didn't say anything to Josh as he passed, he just ignored him as if he wasn't there. "Wanna grab some lunch later?" He asked following her into her office.

"Thanks, but I'm eating out with Donna" She sat down behind her desk and rooted through her draws for something.

"She didn't say anything" He leant against her desk next to her as Carol walked in and handed CJ the notebook she had been searching for.

"Does she need your permission to come out and play?" She grinned at him and her eyes shone with mischief. Her playful manner calmed Josh's nerves and he felt a little foolish for being so jealous and hostile towards Toby.

"Can I watch you play?" He winked at her and she laughed loudly, she pushed him off her desk with her foot.

"Take your dirty mind somewhere else, mi amour" Josh chuckled as his new nickname rolled easily off her tongue.

"What did you call me?" He stopped at their adjoining door. She'd never given him a nickname like she had with Sam and Toby. She grinned slyly and turned to her computer.

"Go away" She said over her shoulder, Josh chuckled again then left with a grin on his face.

As lunch time rolled around Josh was feeling pretty good for the first since last night. He and CJ were doing great, just like she'd said last night and whatever was wrong with Toby was his own problem not theirs. Josh ate a quick lunch in his office as he worked on a memo Toby had asked for yesterday. When he finished it he stepped outside looking for Donna but realised she hadn't returned from her outing with CJ. Sighing he decided to take the memo to Toby himself. As he entered the communications department he saw Toby sat at his desk engrossed in something he was reading. Josh had to knock on the open door twice before Toby looked up.

"What do you want?" Toby asked looking back at his notes.

"I just came by to drop these off" Josh placed the files on Toby's desk and made to leave when Toby's deep voice floated to him.

"You couldn't have had Donna do it?" Josh turned around to see Toby looking straight at him, his voice was low and dangerous, one that Josh had heard many times before.

"What's your problem?" He asked as Toby stood up from his chair.

"I have… all this to do so can you, you know? Go away?" He spread his arms out making Josh look at all the files and paper littering his office. He didn't care though, this was his chance to find out what Toby had said to CJ to make her so upset with him.

"What did you say to CJ last night?" He asked closing the door so no one would over hear them.

"What?" Toby asked, feigning boredom.

"What did you say to her about me?" Josh's voice had donned its own dangerous tone as he stepped closer to Toby's desk. Toby smiled and looked down at the floor, he let out a small laugh as he rubbed a hand over the back of his head.

"You might be surprised by this but the world doesn't only include you" He finally said and Josh felt his blood start to boil.

"What's that supposed to mean?" When Josh stepped closer to Toby he held up his hands and sat back down.

"We had a talk, it had nothing to do with you"

"She's my girlfriend Toby, I think it…" Toby cut him off before he got chance to finish.

"Yeah? So what? She's my oldest friend and she…" He trailed off and shook his head, he didn't want to cause trouble for CJ. He took a deep breath and lifted his eyes to a fuming Josh. When he spoke this time his voice had returned to normal. "Look, whatever you and CJ decide to do in your free time is none of my business but if you hurt her Josh…" He pointed a finger to the deputy and Josh shook his head.

"Toby I'm not…" Toby cut him off again.

"Just don't do what you normally do. I know you Josh"

"Yeah" Josh nodded slowly. CJ was different to any other woman he'd ever encountered and he had a strong desire to make this work with her. He felt the anger and heat leave his body and he leant heavily against a chair behind him. He watched Toby who was playing with a pen, he seemed deep in thought. Josh watched him for a while thinking about him and CJ. It suddenly hit him, CJ was upset because Toby didn't like them being together. She had gone to see Toby hoping to have his blessing. He looked over to the communications director. "She needs your approval Toby" He said quietly, Toby scoffed.

"CJ doesn't need anything from me Josh, she's her own person and she…" Josh shook his head at Toby.

"You're one of the most important people in her life Toby, she needs you to tell her it's ok" The two men stared at each other for a brief second. Josh felt like they may have come to some sort of unspoken agreement, he wasn't sure what over but he'd take this Toby over the angry one he'd just encountered any day.

"I need to…" Toby flicked a hand to the papers on his desk and Josh knew it was time for him to leave.

"Yeah, I'll see you later"

-x-

CJ left the briefing room and walked with Carol to her office. She stopped at Carol's desk, depositing some papers there before heading into her office where Toby was waiting in her guest chair.

"Hey" He said when he heard enter. He placed his hands together as if in prayer and rested his chin on them. CJ looked at him expectantly but it soon became clear he wasn't going to talk first.

"Did I mess up the…"

"No no, it was fine" He interrupted her quickly, shaking his head in the negative.

"Then what can I do for you Toby?" She sat down behind her desk waiting for him to talk. Toby took a deep breath. Since his talk with Josh he hadn't been able to think of anything but this, he tried ignoring it all afternoon but when he'd finally allowed himself to give it some thought he came to the conclusion that Josh might have had a point.

"Last night, I didn't get to…" He paused and glanced at CJ's face. He'd been selfish last night, only thinking of his own feelings. "You came to me as a friend and I wasn't… what I'm trying to say is…" CJ smiled, a truly beautiful smile and Toby found himself returning it.

"I know" She said quietly, but Toby needed to say it. He needed her to know that he was ok with her seeing Josh, even if hurt him to do so.

"I'm here if you need me" There. It was done and to be honest he felt better for it. He was here if she needed him just as he knew that he could always go to her when he needed her.

"Thank you" She said smiling again. Toby nodded, another page of his unfinished chapter turning.

-x-

That night Josh had picked up some food from the Italian restaurant he knew CJ liked and made his way over to her apartment. They were eating in her living room, both sat on the floor in comfy clothes, the TV on quietly for some background noise. They talked about their day and Josh knew she was trying to postpone the conversation he so desperately wanted. Once they finished dinner CJ got up to refill their glasses and once she returned Josh took the opportunity to steer the conversation to where he wanted it.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked as she sat down. She smiled and she knew it was time, there was no more avoiding it.

"Sure"

"Did you… did you ever sleep with Toby?" CJ choked on the water she had taken a sip off, that wasn't what she thought they were going to be talking about. She gaped at him for a second.

"What?"

"You heard me" He was looking at the floor and playing with his glass.

"Josh, no" She moved closer to him. She was expecting Josh to bring up their argument last night, this was the last thing she ever expected him to ask. "Never"

"Did you want to?" He asked still not looking at her. CJ considered saying no but would it do any good to lie to him?

"There was a brief…" She paused. "Yes" His head snapped up to look at her. "But that was a long time ago Josh" She was now sitting on her heels in front of him, her hands resting on his knees.

"Does he…"

"No Josh" She interrupted him. "Like I said, it was a long time ago, we're past all that" She knew that Toby still had feelings for her but telling Josh that would only make things worse. What really mattered was that she was past it, she had moved on.

"Does he call you Jeannie?" He asked quietly. Another question that threw CJ off her game.

"What?"

"Does he call you Jeannie?" He repeated, looking into her eyes. She kept her gaze on his and after a beat she replied.

"No"

CJ had lied but she didn't feel guilty about it. She had always had a special bond with Toby and some things would forever stay private between the two of them. She had allowed Toby to call her Jeannie after a difficult time when she was younger and although he rarely used it, when he did, it was a way of letting her know it was him and not her boss.

"Are you ok?" She asked after a few minutes.

"Yeah" He reached a hand up to brush her fringe out of her eyes.

"Where did all this come from?" She asked leaning into his touch. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her body into his side, they leaned against the sofa.

"Well last night you were just so… upset" He stroked her neck with the arm draped around her. "I thought that there might have been more to your past with Toby and… and maybe that was why you were…" He paused and chuckled at how ridiculous he felt telling her this. "… I guess the green eyed monster rose from the darkened depths" She kissed his cheek and squeezed the hand that was by her neck.

"You really are sweet, mi amour" She said softly.

"There it is again" Josh sat up grinning at his title, he rather liked it.

"Let's go to bed" She stood up and helped Josh do the same. Their hearts felt lighter after their talk and as CJ led him towards her bedroom Josh felt the familiar need to tease her.

"Did you pick up a few tips from reading that Sex Ed report the other night?" He asked pulling her onto the bed. She shrugged as she straddled his hips.

"There was nothing new in there" She said, bending down to trail open mouth kisses along his jaw. Josh felt himself getting turned on, not only from her actions but the little piece of information she had just revealed to him.

"Even from pages twenty-seven to thirty-three?" He asked, a little surprised but extremely excited.

"I'm a seasoned professional, Josh!" She said sitting up and pulling her shirt up over head. Josh's hands moved up her smooth stomach and traced her ribs before landing on her breasts.

"You certainly are" She laughed when he flipped her over quickly so he was on top. "You certainly are" He grinned and kissed her hungrily. CJ sighed into his touch as his hands explored her sensitive body.

Things really were looking great for them, just as she thought they would.

**

* * *

**

**So there it is….**

**Hope it was worth the wait and that you enjoyed it!**

**Please leave a review or pm me, all comments are greatly appreciated! xxx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had fun over the holidays!! Sorry for the colossal amount of time its taken me to update, I too blame the holidays (ha ha Shae) **

**Anyway this chapter takes place in Take This Sabbath day. It's set over two days, Saturday night – after CJ gets back from the trip and then Sunday night/Monday morning – after CJ tells the President of Simon Cruz's death. **

**So I hope you enjoy it and again, please remember to leave a review. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. **

**A huge thank you to my wonderful friend Shae-Lynn1, she beta-ed this chapter and it's so much better thanks to her :D**

**Happy reading…**

**Calliope Jae xxx**

* * *

**Chapter 9: One Weekend**

Saturday Night

Josh sat down behind his desk and placed his head down on the surface. The headache he'd been ignoring all day had finally become unbearable; it felt as though a ton of bricks had been dumped on his head from a significant height. He sighed and closed his eyes, enjoying the peace and quiet after his eventful day with Joey Lucas. He could actually feel himself drifting off to sleep and he welcomed it with open arms. Suddenly his door flew open with a loud bang and he jerked his head up quickly, his eyes trying to focus on the blurry image in front of him.

"Hey Pookey" CJ was leaning against the door frame with a cup of coffee in her hand. She smirked when he grimaced at her loud and perky voice. She walked into his office with a slight swagger and slammed her mug down on his desk harder than necessary, making another loud bang. Josh groaned and CJ laughed, she was enjoying this way too much. "Miss me?" She asked loudly.

"I did until now," he leant his elbows on his desk and cradled his face in his hands. He heard CJ laugh again and he had to resist the urge to throw something at her.

"Donna said she found you in quite the sexy state this morning" She sat on the small cabinet behind Josh's desk. "I'm sorry I missed it," she said, ruffling his hair from behind him. Donna walked in with a fresh cup of coffee for her boss and some Advil. She grinned at CJ and sat down in the guest chair.

"Did she now?" Josh asked, throwing daggers at Donna with his eyes. "Bet she also told you about the foul weather gear too, didn't she?" He said grumpily. CJ burst into laughter and turned his chair around to face her.

"What?" She asked, still laughing slightly. Josh spun around to look at Donna.

"You didn't tell her?" He asked taking a deep breath and swallowing the lump he suddenly had in his throat.

"I was trying to spare you any further embarrassment" She smiled apologetically at him.

"What happened?" CJ asked, confused as to what was going on but thoroughly intrigued.

"Josh had to wear foul weather gear and he had them on when Joey Lucas turned up" Donna grinned at CJ and the two women laughed at Josh's expense.

"Donna!" Josh's voice was shrill and it hurt his throbbing head.

"What?" Donna shrugged her shoulders. "You pretty much just told her anyway" CJ laughed again.

"Leave us now," he said to Donna. She stood up, her head held high.

"You know, you still owe me a pair of shoes," she said before leaving the office and closing the door behind her softly.

"Did you look like the Gorton's fisherman?" CJ asked, crossing her legs and leaning back on her hands. Josh laughed, he'd had the same thought earlier in the day. "Someone should have taken a picture" She clicked her tongue as if blaming the world for not snapping a shot of Josh in all his glory. She grinned, clearly proud of her little jokes. Josh moved closer to her and parted her knees, he slipped in between them and pulled her body to his.

"Shut up," he said before kissing her full on the mouth. She broke away from him and smiled.

"Guess you did miss me" Josh nodded and leaned into her again for another kiss but CJ placed her hands on his chest, holding him back. He frowned. "As much as I'm enjoying this, you have to go home and take a shower"

"But CJ…" She held up a hand to silence him.

"You're not coming anywhere near me until you do." She slipped away from him and made her way to her own office. "I'll be at your place in an hour," she winked at him before leaving. Josh's body kicked into action by itself. He gathered his things and quickly told Donna she could go home. He glanced around the room hurriedly to make sure he had finished all of his work for the day then rushed home to shower before CJ arrived.

-x-

Half an hour later CJ turned off all the electrical equipment in her office before leaving. She stopped at Carol's desk on her way out.

"What time is the guy from treasury coming over?" CJ asked wrapping her coat around her body.

"He's coming at 8" Carol smiled excitedly at her friend.

"Do you know what you're wearing?" CJ sat down on one of the many chairs that were lined up along the wall.

"Well I was thinking of that little black dress I got the last time we went shopping with Donna" CJ nodded remembering the dress she was talking about.

"Oh that was a cute dress" Carol smiled, she and CJ had become close friends in the time they had been working together but she still found it strange to hear words like 'cute' coming from the Press Secretary's mouth.

"Yeah, I thought it would be safe, not too dressy or fancy but classy, you know?"

"He hasn't told you where he's taking you?" CJ asked, smiling when Carol rolled her eyes.

"Wouldn't even give me a clue" She started to tidy her desk and pack her things away.

"Don't you just hate that?" CJ asked with a chuckle.

"It's the worst!" Carol said with a groan. "I'm hoping he'll take me dancing or something. I'd feel pretty stupid wearing a dress to the batting cages" CJ laughed at the image in her head and Carol laughed too. CJ stood up, throwing her bag over her shoulder.

"I want details!" CJ winked at her as she walked to the door. Carol bit her lip wondering whether or not to ask her next question.

"When am I going to get details on Josh?" She knew she was playing with fire here, but there it was. She'd done it. CJ spun around to face her assistant.

"There's nothing going on with me and Josh" She said with a straight face, her voice suddenly very professional.

"Well Donna seems to think there is" Carol watched her boss closely. There were no signs of panic in her body and if Carol didn't know CJ better she would have believed her denials.

"And why is that?" CJ knew she would have to tell Carol at some point about her and Josh but she hadn't expected it to get out this soon.

"Josh told her" Something flickered in CJ's eyes and Carol knew she had her. CJ stepped closer to the younger woman.

"Carol…" There was a slight warning in her voice.

"You can trust me CJ" Carol interrupted her quickly. "Trust me, I can help if you ever need it. I'm your assistant… and your friend" She smiled at CJ, who had relaxed as she listened to Carol talk. "I got your back, boss" CJ nodded.

"I have to go" She said to Carol, returning her smile. "I have some one I need to kill" Carol laughed.

"Should I tell Leo to start looking for a new Deputy Chief of Staff?" Carol asked the question in jest but she knew that CJ's answer would reveal a lot to her as she hadn't actually confirmed Donna's rumours.

"Yeah because there's not a chance Josh will be alive in the morning" She smiled one last time at her assistant then left. As she made her way to the car she thought about the situation. She wasn't really angry that Donna and Carol knew, they could help her and Josh if they ever needed it in the future. What she couldn't understand was why Josh hadn't told her that Donna knew. If she was going to control any gossip surrounding their relationship then she needed to know who was in the loop and who wasn't. She sighed and rested her head on the steering wheel, she'd have to talk to Josh about this and soon. She'd also have to find out about what happened with Donna. She smiled to herself as she started the car, she could have some fun with this.

-x-

Josh was freshly showered, his hair still damp as he rubbed a towel over his head. He walked into the kitchen and opened a bottle of wine, leaving it to breathe before CJ arrived. He turned the radio onto a smooth jazz station, one that he had heard CJ listen to many times on the campaign trail. He grabbed the wine and two glasses and put them in his front room. Then he got comfortable on the sofa and waited for CJ to arrive.

About 15 minutes later there was a knock on the door. Josh jumped up from the sofa and jogged to the door, he opened it to find CJ leaning against the doorframe. She smiled sweetly at him as she walked in. She dropped her things on the chair at his table and turned to face him.

"Hey" He grinned at her as he took her in his arms, placing kisses on her neck.

"Hello" She allowed him to kiss her but didn't return any of his advances.

"Am I working alone here?" He asked, unbuttoning her coat and sliding it from her shoulders.

"It depends on your answer to my question" He grinned at her, thinking she was playing some sort of game with him.

"Ok" He slipped his hands underneath the back of her shirt and massaged the soft skin there.

"Did you tell Donna about us?" He froze at her words then stepped back from her. He prepared to argue his case: he hadn't told Donna and he had no plans to tell her anytime soon.

"First of all, I…" He stopped mid-sentence as something started to nag at the back of his mind.

"She told Carol that you told her" Josh was racking his brain: something had happened, only what? It suddenly hit him. Donna had lured him into a sense of safety with that damned coffee then hit him with a baseball bat.

"Ok, so what you gotta know about that is…" CJ rolled her eyes, she knew it! She turned and started to walk away from him. "Wait, wait, wait!" He grabbed her hand and turned her to face him. "I didn't tell her exactly but then again I never got the chance to deny it"

"You didn't get the chance to deny it?"

"Well she asked on the day that you were ill so I didn't get chance to talk to her about it. Do you remember? I had to take you home" He watched as CJ started at him incredulously. She shook her head slightly.

"So this is my fault?" She placed her hands on her hips and fixed her eyes on his.

"I…" Josh's mouth opened and closed a few times reminding CJ of a fish. This was turning out to be even more fun than she first thought. "I didn't mean that" He said after a while.

"Yes you did" CJ turned away from him but Josh ran to stand in front of her.

"Hey it was you who said we could tell people if they asked" He stopped talking when he realised what he'd said. CJ's face broke into a smile and she prodded his chest with a finger.

"So you did tell her!" She exclaimed.

"Wait, wait, that wasn't what I meant" He wiped a hand over his head and realised he was starting to sweat. He was digging a hole for himself. "What I meant to say was…" He paused trying to find his words. CJ stood in front of him expectantly, tilting her head to the side. "I think maybe you…" He stopped again, he was going to tell that she had over-reacted but he'd made that mistake once before and he had no desire to repeat it. CJ laughed inside, she knew exactly what he had been about to say.

"You want a shovel to help you dig that hole?" She laughed out loud this time and placed a hand on his cheek. It had been fun but CJ thought it was time to let him in on the game. She kissed him lightly and smiled at the puzzled look on his face as she walked towards the bathroom. Josh stood in the hallway for a second and stared after CJ's retreating form before kicking himself into action and following her.

"What just happened?" He asked when he stepped into the bathroom. CJ turned the shower on before answering him.

"I don't mind that Donna knows or even Carol for that matter" Josh frowned at her, Carol knew? "What I mind is when people spring it on me without my knowledge. You need to tell me when some one asks you about us Josh, I don't like these kinds of surprises" She kissed his lips softly as he processed her words.

"So you're not really angry?" He pulled her body towards him and helped her out of her top.

"Not really, no" She grinned at him.

"Then why...?"

"I just wanted to give you a hard time" She laughed when he feigned a hurt expression which he couldn't keep up, breaking into a smile. As he started to unbutton her grey slacks she tugged on the bottom of his shirt.

"I've already showered" He said batting her hands away and pushing down her panties and trousers at the same time. She reached behind her and unclasped her bra. Josh's eyes openly roamed her naked body as she stood before him.

"That's a shame" She shrugged her shoulder. "I was going to let you wash my back" She said seductively before slipping under the water.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Josh ripping his clothes from his body as quickly as he could and she had to stifle a laugh when he stumbled over his pants in his rush to join her in the shower. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and pushed himself up against her back. CJ could feel her body begin to heat and all he'd done was wrap his hands around her. She leant forward to pick up the soap and Josh used the movement to push his hips against her ass. She chuckled when she felt the familiar hardness of his erection and passed him the soap over her shoulder.

Josh lathered the soap in his palms and ran them over her shoulders. CJ relaxed into his warm hands, a soft moan escaping her parted lips. Josh smiled, his hands trailing down her. CJ arched her back in response, pushing her chest into the running water. He brought his hands around her front and traced the underneath of her breast, CJ gasped.

"I thought I asked you to wash my back" Her voice was deeper than usual.

"I could stop if you like" He brushed his thumb over one of her nipples then drew back. He didn't get very far before CJ caught his hands and pressed them fully to her breasts.

"You're not going anywhere" He smiled into the soft skin at the base of her neck as he massaged her breasts. CJ pushed her ass into his erection causing him to buck against her. He turned her around to face him and pressed his lips against hers. CJ felt Josh move towards her and she stepped backwards, her back suddenly colliding with the cold tiles. She arched away from the wall at the sudden change in temperature and she broke from Josh's lips letting out a small gasp. Josh looked down at her body, her nipples taught, jutted out towards him and he took the opportunity to wrap his lips around one. CJ instantly forgot the cold tiles when she relaxed against them, thoroughly enjoying Josh's continued attention to her breast.

"Oh Josh…" She groaned his name, her head thrown back and her hands tangled in his hair. Josh moved his mouth to the other nipple. He moved his hands down her body, squeezing and tickling her curves as he went. He moved away from her breasts and knelt down in front of her. He placed soft kisses on the smooth skin of her stomach and he enjoyed the way her muscles flittered under his touch. He brought a hand to her heated sex and pushed two fingers inside her.

CJ gasped at the welcome intrusion. She could feel herself melting as he worked her with his fingers. She let a out a long deep moan as Josh pushed his fingers even deeper inside her and she jumped when he trailed his tongue along her stomach. Josh looked up at her, her head was tilted back and her eyes shut, her mouth relaxed open slightly and her wet hair curled around her face. She was beautiful and for a second Josh's hand faltered between her legs as he watched her. CJ whimpered and opened her eyes. She looked down at him and they locked eyes for a second. Josh returned to his task but kept his eyes on CJ 's when he leant forward to take her clit into his mouth. She bucked into him, letting out a cry as an unexpected wave of pleasure coursed through her body. Josh sucked her gently as she came down from her climax. He placed one last kiss on her stomach before moving up her body to her mouth.

CJ wrapped her arms around Josh's neck as he rose to his full height and she kissed him full on the mouth. She sucked on his bottom lip and she could taste herself on his skin. Josh smiled at her and used one hand to massage one of her breasts while the other snaked around her waist, keeping her body close to his.

"God, I need you" He growled into her ear and ran his hands down over her ass. He hooked his hands under her legs and lifted her up pressing her hard into the wall. CJ wrapped her long legs around his waist and pushed her hips into his. He slipped inside her easily and they both moaned. Josh buried his head into her shoulder as he drove into her over and over.

"Oh God, Josh" CJ clawed at his shoulders and nibbled on his ear. She pushed her back into the wall allowing her to meet his every thrust. Josh brought his head up to look at her when she moaned again, the familiar sound that meant she was close, something he would never tire of hearing. He pounded into her making her climax hard and fast, he followed her almost instantly calling her name and resting his forehead against hers.

"Oh my God! CJ let out a deep breath.

"Yeah," was all Josh could say. He placed kisses on her chin and nuzzled her cheek with his nose. CJ wriggled a bit, wanting him to lower her legs to the floor. "Wait just..." He nuzzled her neck and she hugged him into her.

"You ok?" She asked breathlessly.

"Yeah, I just... I like this" He lifted his head to look into her eyes and lowered her legs. He kept his arms around her body making sure she couldn't move away from him, not that she had any plans to do so.

"I bet you do" She grinned at him and ran her hands down his chest. Josh took a deep breath and reached around CJ to turn the shower off, ignoring her puzzled frown.

"No I mean, I love this with you... being with you" CJ smiled. "I look forward to this, not just the sex... I mean don't get me wrong it's amazing but I just..." She stroked a hand over his cheek and he turned his head to kiss the palm of her hand. "This is what I look forward to, the kisses, the small touches. Snuggling up next to you in bed or on the sofa, talking to you and even arguing with you" CJ chuckled and Josh smiled at the sound. "I like resting my head on your chest so I can hear your heart beating and I like watching you dance when you think no ones looking" CJ blushed a little but she was still smiling at him. "But most of all I like the way you look at me when we're alone" CJ's heart melted at his confession.

"Josh" She didn't know what to say to him, so she placed a long soft kiss to his lips and hugged him to her.

"I guess I just... I want to be able to know that I'll have this to come home to, that you'll be here. 'Cause right now I can't imagine what it would be like to not be with you. I think I'm..." CJ placed her lips against his again, silencing him. She wasn't sure where all this was coming from but the start of that last sentence scared her. She was worried in case it would lead to something she wasn't prepared to deal with right now. She a few drops of water from her face and took a breath before talking.

"I'm not going anywhere, Josh" She held his face in her hands and looked straight into his eyes. "I'll be here as long as you want me" They shared a smile before he kissed her and when he tried to deepen the kiss CJ pushed him away, a grin on her face. "I need to shower now"

"I can help" He gave her a mischievous grin and turned the shower back on. CJ laughed out loud.

"Go away, mi amour" He chuckled and kissed her one last time.

"Don't be too long, I need to sleep but I'm not done with you yet" He slipped from the cubicle and left CJ to finish her shower. She chuckled to herself, knowing full well that Josh would be fast asleep long before she reached the comfort of his bed.

-x-

Monday 12.05am

CJ closed the door to the Oval Office behind her and took a deep breath. Charlie looked up from his desk to see her rub a hand over her eyes.

"You ok, CJ?" He asked.

"Yeah," she answered quickly. Charlie didn't believe her but he knew better than to question her further.

"Do you need anything?"

"No thanks, Chaz" She gave him a weak smile and he nodded. She walked towards the door but stopped tapping her nails on the frame. "Actually, do you know if Josh is still here?"

"I saw him about an hour ago but I'm not sure if he's still here" He watched CJ nod absentmindedly, she looked a million miles away. "CJ?" He thought about asking her if she was ok again but she interrupted him.

"Thanks Charlie" She tapped her knuckles against the door then walked away leaving Charlie at his desk, a puzzled look on his face.

CJ wandered through the hallways not really paying much attention to where she was going. She was deep in thought, her mind reeling. She couldn't stop thinking about Sophia Cruz. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't shake it. She had no opinion on the son but she couldn't get rid of the imaginary image of his mothers pained expression when she was told of her son's death. She stopped walking and looked around her, the West Wing was empty. Deadly silent and she thought it suited the sombre tone that seemed to ring through the halls.

She made her way over to Josh's office and was pleased to see the lights still on in there. She knocked on the partially open door to see him surrounded by files. He was talking on the phone and when he saw her in the doorway he beckoned her in. She sat in one of the guest chairs and waited for him to finish his call.

"Hey" Josh hung up and smiled at her.

"Hey," she chewed on the inside of her mouth and Josh frowned when she didn't return his smile.

"What's wrong?" He asked fixing his eyes on hers.

"Nothing, I just…" Josh's phone started to ring again and Josh answered on the first ring.

"Yeah? Sure…" CJ sighed and tucked her hair behind her ear. "So he… yeah, no problem" He placed the phone back on the hanger and stood up. He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and opened his door. "Donna!" CJ spun around to face him.

"You going somewhere?" She asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah," he answered abruptly as Donna came running in.

"What do you need?" She asked.

"I need you to find out what hotel Joey Lucas is staying at," Donna rushed back out and Josh slipped into his over coat.

"You're meeting Joey Lucas?" CJ asked, she was still sitting in the chair.

"Yeah, Leo said the President wants me to see her before she leaves" CJ suddenly felt unwelcome in his office as she watched him rushing around. She stood up to leave but had to step aside when Donna came running back in.

"Here" Donna handed Josh a piece of paper with the Hotel details on it. "Her plane leaves in an hour and a half, you have to go now" She smiled at CJ before leaving again. Josh followed Donna out, leaving CJ standing alone in his office. She shook her head and forced down the sudden urge to cry. She was about to leave his office when Donna came back in, she leaned against the doorframe and looked over at CJ.

"Are you ok?" Donna asked, noticing CJ's sad eyes.

"Yeah," she pushed past Donna, not really paying her much attention. Feeling a little guilty at brushing Donna aside she turned back and put on a brave face. "I'm fine Donna, thanks for asking"

CJ once again took to wandering the halls, she made her way back through the Lobby and found herself standing in the Roosevelt Room. She suddenly caught a glimpse of movement from the communications department and knew instantly who it was. With purposeful strides she made her way to his office, following the gentle thudding sound of that damn ball. As she stood in the doorway she saw the ball hit the corner of the cabinet and it careened in her direction. She caught it in one hand and bounced it on the floor a few times before throwing it back to its owner.

"Is it done?" Toby asked squeezing the ball in his hand.

"Yeah" She sat down on his sofa.

"What did you..." CJ cut him off before he could ask his question.

"I don't want to talk about it, Toby" She said sternly. She tucked her legs underneath her and Toby stood up making his way around the desk and leaning against the front of it.

"So why are you here?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"I needed to think"

"Was Josh unavailable?" His tone was dry and he started to bounce the ball off the wall again. She glared at him but let the snark remark slide.

"I wanted to see you" Toby scoffed but his eyes found hers and he stopped bouncing the ball.

"Really?" He looked almost hopeful that her reason was true.

"Yeah" She patted the space next to her and he joined her on the sofa. They were silent for awhile, each staring into space until Toby cleared his throat catching her attention.

"Do you want to get a drink?" She shook her head. "Food?" He asked watching her closely.

"Can we just sit here?" She looked into his eyes and Toby saw they were glistening.

"Sure" He put his feet up on the coffee table in front of them. CJ rubbed a hand over her face and Toby wasn't sure if it was because she was tired or if she was wiping away tears.

"Why don't you go home?" He asked quietly.

"It's too quiet there" She hoped he wouldn't ask her to elaborate and was relieved when he didn't. Toby sighed, he lifted a hand to her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. He went to remove his hand but CJ caught it and pulled it around her shoulders. She snuggled into his side and let out a contented sigh. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, her brain had finally stopped whirling and she was left with a blank slate.

CJ was falling asleep in Toby's arms when a knock on the door broke through her tranquil mind. She felt Toby turn to look at the door but he didn't greet whoever it was. She suddenly felt a hand on her face and she opened her eyes slowly.

"Hey" Josh was crouched down in front of her, a concerned look on his face. "You ok?"

"Yeah" She smiled at him warmly but moved closer to Toby. "I'm good"

"You want me to take you home?" He asked reaching a hand out to her, she shook her head.

"No you're busy, Toby can drop me off on his way home" She sat up and tucked her hair behind her ears. Josh berated himself inside, she'd come to see him earlier and he'd run off without even a word to her. The guilt he felt was almost overwhelming, especially after what she'd said to him last night. He hadn't been there for her when she needed him. Toby glanced over at Josh then stood up and walked back to his desk.

"You should go home Ceej" She looked over at Toby as he sat down. "I won't be leaving anytime soon" CJ nodded slowly and stood up. Toby and Josh met eyes for a second and Josh tilted his head towards him in a silent thank you before placing a hand on her lower back.

"Goodnight Tobus" She smiled wanly at him before letting Josh lead her to her office.

As they reached their offices, Josh quickly ducked into his own to grab his things and opened the adjoining door to find CJ sitting behind her desk.

"You can stay here you know" He said from the doorway, CJ looked up at him. "I don't mind if you want to stay with Toby" In truth he did mind but he could tell that something was wrong with her and this wasn't the time to get jealous over her oldest friend. After all Toby had been there for tonight when he hadn't.

"Will you come home with me?" She looked vulnerable to him and he walked over to her and took her in his arms.

"Sure" He pulled her up from the chair and helped her into her coat that was draped over her desk.

"It's just, I know that we said we wouldn't see each other tonight 'cause we both have work to do but I..." Josh placed his finger to her lips.

"I'm sure we'll be able to work and spend time together without any problems" She gave him a funny look and he chuckled. He tied the sash on her coat and gently touched her cheek with his fingers. "To be honest CJ, I was going to ask you the same thing anyway" She gave him a small smile and he placed a kiss to her forehead.

"Lets go home" He pulled her towards him and led her out of the West Wing holding her hand tightly in his.

* * *

**Please leave a review or pm me, all comments are greatly appreciated! xxx**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi all! So here's another chapter and I hope you enjoy it. This isn't really based on an episode but just so you have an idea of where we are in season 1, it happens a little after 20 Hours in L.A.**

**Please remember to leave a review and a big thank you once again to Shae-Lynn1 for beta-ing this for me. You're awesome! :D**

**Happy reading, my dudes!**

**Calliope Jae xxx**

* * *

**Chapter 10:** **Breaking a record**

"Carol!"

Carol ran through the bullpen as CJ's voice travelled to her from her office on the other side of the bullpen. The boxes she was carrying wobbled precariously in her arms. She jogged into CJ's office and put the heavy boxes down on the sofa and turned to her boss.

"You need something?" She asked.

"What's this?" CJ was reading something on her computer but held up her hand, a pink slip between two fingers.

"A note" Carol deadpanned and CJ looked up at her assistant.

"Yeah, I can see that," she passed the slip to Carol who smiled. "Who organised that?" CJ asked.

"She did," Carol answered placing the note on CJ's desk.

"You know what it's about?" CJ asked, going back to her reading.

"No," Carol started to filter through the files in the boxes.

"Did I do something?"

"I don't think so"

"What are those?" CJ asked looking through the newspapers that cluttered her desk.

"The files you asked for"

"For the briefing?" CJ stood up and made her way over to Carol. She looked over the files, there had to be at least 50, if not more.

"Yup," Carol handed a stack to CJ for her to start reading. "You should start now if you want to get through these."

"Maybe you should cancel that lunch meeting..." CJ started to say but Carol interrupted her, shaking her head.

"No, if you want to cancel you can call her yourself, I'm not getting involved." Carol neatly piled the rest of the files on the sofa and stood up.

"Please remember that I can fire you," CJ glared at her friend who shrugged at her comment.

"Yeah, but you won't." Carol smiled and walked out of the office.

"Don't be so sure!" CJ called after her retreating figure.

"You threatening to fire her again?" Josh appeared in the adjoining doorway, he was leaning against the frame with his arms folded over his chest.

"What do you want?" CJ asked walking back to her desk and sitting down.

"Donna's dragging me and Sam to that new organic place and I was wondering if you wanted to come?"

"I can't"

"Why?" He made his way into her office and leant against her desk.

"I have a meeting," she started flicking through one of the files Carol had given her.

"What meeting?" Josh picked up a file too and read the inside cover, wondering what she needed to read up on.

"It's in the Residence." He raised an eyebrow at her and she snatched the file he was holding away from him.

"The First Lady?"

"Yup"

"What did you do?" CJ rolled her eyes.

"Nothing!" She sighed and looked up from the file she had taken from him. "I'm hoping it's just lunch with Abbey, but the note said lunch with the First Lady." She held up the pink note and Josh chuckled.

"Have fun with that," he pushed away from the desk and walked back into his own office.

"Thanks!" She shouted after him. She glanced back down at the files on the desk and groaned.

-x-

At 12.30 CJ made her way over to the First Lady's office in the East Wing and knocked on the door gently.

"Come in," CJ opened the door and peeked in side.

"Mrs. Bartlet." She closed the door behind her and made her way over to where the older woman was sitting.

"We're having lunch, CJ, two friends catching up, so let's drop the First Lady charade." She patted the sofa next to her and CJ sat down, crossing her legs.

"How've you been, Abbey?" CJ asked, taking a cup of coffee from her friend. She felt relaxed now that she knew this was just lunch.

"Oh you know, the same." Abbey watched CJ out of the corner of her eye while she sipped from her cup. "How about you Claudia Jean?" CJ smiled at the use of her full name. Something was up and CJ knew she was here to be interrogated.

"Well, I feel like I haven't really slept since I left California," she chuckled. "Things are good though, I'm good"

"And how are things on the romance front?" Abbey asked grinning.

"Abbey," her voice had a warning ring to it.

"I have a friend," Abbey continued and chuckled at the look on CJ's face.

"Abbey, I…"

"He was an intern at my hospital"

"Abbey," CJ rolled her eyes when Abbey continued talking as if she had said nothing.

"His name is Scott Anderson, he's just become head of the diagnostics team at GW and he's just moved here." She paused and CJ felt a little uneasy at the gleam in the other woman's eyes. "And would you believe it? I bumped into him yesterday, so I invited him to the White House"

"Abbey there's not a chance you 'bumped' into him, what did you do?" CJ asked, feeling her stomach turning.

"Ok, so I called him. Sue me," she had a smug look on her face as she watched CJ. "He's coming for lunch"

"Abbey I hope you're not…" Abbey held a hand up to silence her.

"He's just coming for lunch," she stood up and CJ followed her out of her office. As they made their way to the dining room in the residence Abbey turned to face her friend. "But if there's any sparks, I want the credit." CJ smiled but she was cringing inside, how could she get out of this? She couldn't tell her that she was seeing someone, that would just lead to a long line of questions and she would rather avoid all that. As they walked into the dining room a man stood by the fireplace admiring the large painting above it. He turned to greet the two women and CJ allowed the First Lady to introduce them. She thought it would be better to play it safe and go along with whatever Abbey had in mind.

"CJ, this is Scott Anderson. Scott I'd like you to meet my husband's Press Secretary, Claudia Jean Cregg." They shook hands and CJ couldn't help but take in his appearance. He was tall, he maybe had a few inches on CJ which she couldn't help but find attractive. He had dark brown hair and amazing green eyes that were almost cat-like. She found herself flushing a little when he smiled, it really was a great smile and when he spoke his voice was deep, almost husky.

"It's good to meet you Claudia Jean, I feel like I already know you." He smiled again at her and she felt herself returning it. Stop it!

"Yeah, being on TV does that and please, call me CJ."

"Well CJ, TV doesn't do you justice." CJ berated herself when she felt her cheeks grow warm. Blushing? Really? She noticed Abbey's grinning face out of the corner of her eye.

"It's good to see you Scott," Abbey hugged her friend. "Shall we eat?" She asked as the food was brought in on a trolley. "I asked for a bit of everything, I wasn't sure what you'd like," she said looking over at Scott.

"It all looks great," he held a chair out for CJ to sit on then sat next to her while Abbey sat opposite them. Just as they were helping themselves to food there was a tentative knock at the door. CJ hoped it was for her, this man was attractive but she was seeing someone and to be honest she was very happy with her budding relationship with Josh. Gina, one of the First Lady's assistant, popped her head in.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Bartlet but your 1 o'clock is here." Abbey thanked Gina and smiled at CJ's frowning face. She'd set them up!

"I'm sorry guys, but I have to leave. Please take your time and eat as much as you want," she said as she followed Gina out. There was a quiet tension in the room and CJ played with the salad on her plate.

"Do you like working here?" Scott asked, taking a large bite out of his sandwich.

"Yes." She wanted to leave it at that and runaway from this awkward situation, but when she looked at his face she couldn't help but elaborate on her answer. "I always wanted to do something… important with my life… you know? I wanted to serve my country, serve the people… I just…" she trailed off and distracted herself by taking a sip of her water.

"I guess you found exactly what you were looking for," he said. She could feel his eyes travelling across her face. She smiled and nodded.

"I guess I did, what about you?"

"I understand where you're coming from. I became a doctor because I wanted to help people, I watched my dad do it every day and it's the only career I've ever wanted to follow."

"Your father was a doctor too?" She asked and he nodded, taking another bite of his sandwich. "Abbey said you're the head of the diagnostics department," he nodded again and she could feel herself becoming more and more interested in this man in front of her. "How did you get into that?"

"I was tested for it, I almost felt like I was auditioning," he looked into her eyes. "It was horrible actually, fun though. We had to solve mystery cases, we'd be given a series of symptoms and we had to run and…" he chuckled. "I really like my job, it challenges me and I like that. I also like talking to people and helping them of course."

"So you've moved to DC?" CJ asked. As much as she didn't want to admit it she found Scott to be rather charming. She pushed her plate away and leant back in her chair, there was no harm in her making a new friend, was there?

"Yeah, well… Chevy Chase, close enough though right?" He asked smiling at her. CJ could see so much in that smile, perhaps making a new friend was a bad idea. "Listen… do you think maybe…" there was an urgent knock on the door and Sam appeared in the doorway not waiting for an answer.

"We need you," he said quickly not taking much notice of the man sitting next to CJ.

"Ok," she let out a relieved sigh and turned to Scott. "I'm really sorry but I have to go," she shook his hand but when she tried to leave he kept hold of her.

"I'd really like to see you again," he stroked her wrist and CJ smiled apologetically at him.

"I'm sorry, Scott but I really have to go," she pulled her arm away from his grasp and joined Sam. They walked towards the West Wing and Sam threw her an amused glance.

"What was that about?" He asked holding the door open for her.

"Abbey set me up," Sam laughed and CJ rolled her eyes. "It's not funny"

"It kinda is"

"Shut up!"

-x-

CJ strode into her office after her last briefing and threw her notebook on the desk. Carol walked in behind her and handed her a file.

"The memo you asked Toby for." CJ smiled at her assistant.

"Thanks Carol, could you call over to Leo and tell him the lid's closed?" She leafed through the memo, scanning the words to make sure it had everything she needed.

"Already done," Carol said walking out of the office.

"Is there anything else?" CJ shouted out to Carol.

"Nope, you're done for the evening." Carol came back into her boss's office and grinned at CJ.

"Really?" CJ asked looking up from the memo. "It's like," she glanced at her watch. "It's only 7.15"

"I know, I suggest you run before something comes up"

CJ pushed the memo and a few other files into her bag and closed it. She slipped into her jacket and coat and turned off her computer. She went out into the outer office and stopped by Carol's desk.

"I suggest you do the same thing," CJ said to her friend. Carol held up her bag and coat and the two women laughed.

"Already there, boss." They walked towards the Lobby talking animatedly, both elated at the thought of getting home before midnight.

"Hey, CJ!" She stopped in her tracks and groaned when she heard her name being called.

"Charlie, please don't say it!" She turned to look at him and he stopped in front of her.

"You can't go home yet," he said with an apologetic smile. "The President wants you and the guys in the Oval Office now." CJ nodded and Charlie went to find the others. She turned to her assistant who had already taken off her coat.

"I guess we didn't run fast enough," she said to CJ, smiling slightly.

"You can go home Carol, don't worry about it"

"Are you sure, CJ?" She asked, torn between wanting to help her boss and wanting to go home.

"Go," she smiled at her assistant and Carol almost sprinted out of the White House, shouting a quick 'goodnight' over her shoulder.

CJ stood and watched her leave, wishing she was getting her early night too. She sighed and headed over to the Oval Office, when she arrived she found Toby and Sam already waiting there.

"Do you know what this is about?" Sam asked her when she approached them. She shook her head and leant against Mrs. Landingham's desk.

"Were you on your way home?" Toby asked taking in her attire.

"Almost, I got to the doors and Officer Krupke here," she nodded her head in Charlie's direction, who frowned at her comment. "... pulled me back in"

"Almost a free woman," Sam said grinning.

"I could taste the fresh air," CJ said returning his silly smile.

"What's going on?" Josh asked as he walked towards them.

"We don't know," Toby said watching CJ play with a button on her coat. Josh leant against the desk next to CJ, she smiled as he joined her and he winked at her. Suddenly the door opened and Leo beckoned them in, CJ raised an eyebrow at him as she walked past him and he gave her a lopsided grin in return.

"Come one, come all!" The President sat in his usual chair and he swept an arm over the Oval Room, inviting them in.

"What's happening right now?" Toby asked standing behind CJ and Sam who had sat down on one of the sofas.

"I'm a man in a good mood Toby, why don't you sit?"

"Cause I have a bad feeling about this"

"Toby..." CJ smiled at him and he reluctantly sat down.

"My wife has invited some of her doctor friends over for a few drinks tonight and I always feel like an uneducated fool whenever they're around." He paused for a second and the senior staff exchanged confused glances. "I know you might be wondering how all this relates to you so I'll just get to the point. I want you all there, if I have to sit through this night of unendurable snootiness I'm damn well not doing it alone." He glanced first at Sam who stuttered a little.

"I er... have a speech to finish, Sir." Josh cringed inside at Sam's lame attempt to get out of this; the poor guy panicked. It's never nice to be the first under so much pressure. Jed's eyes turned to Josh.

"My mother's in town, Sir and I'm taking her to dinner." Josh saw something flicker in the President's eyes and Josh knew the older man couldn't decide if he was telling the truth or not.

"I just don't want to go," was all Toby said when it was his turn. Jed had had enough, he stood up and walked over to his desk. He stood behind it and rested his hands on the surface, leaning against it slightly.

"Do you see this desk?" He looked down at the smooth dark wood and everyone's eyes followed his from their places. "This, is the Resolute Desk." Everyone nodded a little, still looking at the desk. "Do you know who stands behind this desk?" He glanced over at CJ and fixed her with a stare. "Claudia Jean?"

"The President of the United States, Sir"

"Correct Ms. Cregg! And as I am the one to be currently standing behind this desk I have the right to say this, I'm dragooning you all into this mind numbing show of entertaining and you will enjoy it." Jed flipped his jacket over his head and fastened the buttons as he walked towards the door. Sam caught CJ's eye and he smiled when she rolled her eyes slightly.

"When would you like us there, Mr. President?" Leo asked, following him to the door.

"Oh take your time. But I'd like you all to be there before the band of doctors arrives. You know, maybe if they see the White House Senior Staff then maybe they might remember who I am." He exchanged a glance with Leo who nodded his head, understanding what he was saying.

"I'm pretty sure they haven't forgotten who you are, Sir." Josh chuckled.

"Obviously you haven't met my wife's friends, see you all soon!" He waved a hand at them as he left for the Residence and once Leo closed the door he turned to the senior staff. Everyone started talking at once, each with their own excuses but Leo held up a hand to silence them.

"It's done and that's that. Now go do whatever it is you need to do but I want you all in the Residence in 45 minutes, do I make myself clear?" The staffers nodded, all of them silent. "Good, now get your asses outta here before I have Charlie call the Secret Service," he gave them a lopsided grin to show he was kidding and the four people in front of him smiled back.

"Thanks Leo," CJ chuckled and led the men out of the Oval Office.

-x-

For the second time that evening CJ turned off her computer and left her office. She walked through the lobby and made her way over to the communications department. She glanced into Toby's office through his window and saw him scribbling furiously on a pad of paper. She smiled but decided to leave him alone. She could hear voices coming from Sam's office as she neared the closed door. She knocked gently before entering and Josh and Sam looked at her sheepishly.

"Talking about me?" She asked leaning against the door.

"Why would you think that?" Josh asked sneaking Sam a look out of the corner of his eye. CJ looked over at Sam and he shrank back into his chair wishing he could disappear into it.

"Sam?" She walked over and perched on the corner of his desk, crossed her arms and waited for his response.

"I was telling Josh about Abbey setting you up," he smiled apologetically at her but her attention was already caught by Josh who snorted out a laugh.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"Nothing, was he good looking?" Josh and Sam locked eyes and chuckled. CJ frowned at the two of them; she knew she would have to live through all these terrible jokes and innuendos if she didn't put a stop to it now.

"He was actually," she smirked at the look of shock on Josh's face.

"Really?"

"Yeah," she looked up at the door when Toby knocked and pointed in the direction of the residence.

"Let's get this over with." He walked away without waiting for a response and the others followed behind. Josh tugged on CJ's jacket sleeve, slowing her down so they were walking a few steps behind Sam and Toby.

"Was he really, you know... good looking?" he asked, whispering so the others wouldn't hear.

"He kinda was," she smiled to herself and Josh caught the look on her face. He grabbed her hand gently and stopped her walking. He turned her to face him. "Josh?"

"Was he... did he, did you...?" He glanced at the hand that was holding hers.

"Josh, you need to calm down," she pulled her hand away from his when a couple of staffers walked past them.

"Well, it's just... should I be worried?" His voice was small and CJ melted at the hesitant tone he used.

"No Josh, I..." she ignored the people around them and took hold of his hand. She squeezed it tightly and smiled reassuringly, making sure he was looking into her eyes. "I'm sorry Josh, I shouldn't have done that. I just... you and Sam were about to jump on the ball and I wanted to beat you to it. I shouldn't have and I'm sorry." She kept hold of his hand and Josh rubbed circles over her knuckles with his thumb.

"I'm sure I'll find a way for you to make it up to me," he sported a huge grin and CJ rolled her eyes at him, glad to know that his ego hadn't been too badly damaged. She pulled her hand away from his and continued her journey to the residence. Josh strode along beside her, a new bounce in his step.

"I don't doubt that," she replied shaking her head slightly but smiling.

"I'm thinking a hot bath... maybe a massage?" He stuck his hands in his pockets once they entered the elevator and leant against the wall.

"Don't push your luck there, mi amour," CJ walked from the elevator and made her way over to the Yellow Oval Room where people had already started to gather. She quickly found Toby and Sam who were standing near the bar that had been set up for this evening's gathering. Josh slowly made his way over to them, a grin still plastered on his face.

"Why is he smiling like that?" Toby asked, handing CJ a glass of wine. She shrugged and sipped from her glass. "What's wrong with you?" Toby asked Josh once he was standing in front of them.

"What do you mean?" Josh asked.

"You look like you're happy to be here."

"I am happy to be here." Toby scoffed and walked to a nearby chair.

Almost an hour later CJ was sitting with the First Lady and some of her friends. She was reclining on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other and sipping a glass of wine Abbey had just given her. She was engulfed by a gentle buzz from the alcohol and she was feeling extremely relaxed. She closed her eyes for a second and hummed in the back of her throat. Suddenly someone nudged her elbow and she jolted up, almost spilling her drink. She glanced around at Abbey who nudged her elbow again.

"What..." CJ looked in the direction that Abbey was and saw Scott Anderson in the doorway. He caught her eye and gave her a small smile then headed in her direction. CJ quickly turned to the First Lady. "Abbey..."

"He said your little encounter went well today, were there any sparks?" Abbey asked quietly waving to Scott.

"Abbey I really don't think..."

"Did you not like him?" Abbey asked turning her eyes to her friend.

"He was a very nice guy Abbey but I..." Scott suddenly appeared in front of them cutting CJ off.

"Hello again, CJ," he took hold of her hand and held it gently in his. CJ smiled politely and pulled her hand away from his, taking a quick look around the room to see where Josh was. She saw him talking with the President and was thankful that he hadn't noticed Scott yet. She pulled her attention back to Scott.

"Hey, Scott. I'm sorry I had to dash this afternoon but I had a lot of work I needed to attend to," she glanced at Abbey out of the corner of her eye.

"Don't worry about it," he sat down next to CJ and she shuffled over uncomfortably. She fixed Abbey with her eyes and the older woman seemed to understand what they were saying: Get me out of this!! Abbey shot up out of her seat and pulled CJ along with her.

"I'm sorry, Scott but I just need CJ for moment. I'll be right back," she smiled at her friends and pulled CJ into Jed's private office. "What is going on?" She asked once they were alone.

"Oh Abbey please don't ask me..."

"CJ, are you seeing someone?"

"That's not what... I..."

"He works in the West Wing doesn't he?" Abbey was sporting a huge smile and CJ closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and opened them again, only to see Abbey's big grin.

"Yes," CJ held out a hand to stop Abbey from talking again. "But please don't repeat a word of this to the President, Abbey. We're playing it quiet because it's new, it's unknown territory and I don't want to cause problems for him or the administration." Abbey shook her head.

"I could spell it out for Jed and he still wouldn't understand what's going on," she smiled at CJ who took another deep breath. "So, are you going to tell me who it is?"

"No, but knowing you you'll figure it out in a few days anyway," they shared a quick smile and Abbey chuckled.

"That's true," she linked her arm with CJ's and the two women walked back into the Yellow Room. Scott started to make his way over to them and Abbey gave her arm a quick squeeze. "I'll take care of this, go sit down," she nodded over to the other side of the room where Toby and Leo were talking, then made her way over to head Scott off before he got to CJ.

"Hey," CJ said as she sat down next to Leo. She watched Abbey talk to Scott and she felt a little bad for him; he really was a nice guy. She saw Scott nod to Abbey and walk in the opposite direction to join some of his friends. CJ turned her attention away as Josh approached her with a drink, she smiled a thank you to him and he sat down next to her.

"You having fun?" CJ asked him, her eyes lingering on his lips as he took a drink from his own glass.

"I am now," he said quietly making sure neither Leo nor Toby could hear him. She smiled again and took a sip of her drink. They were quiet for a second and Josh glanced over at the man he had noticed sitting with CJ earlier. He cleared his throat and CJ peered over her glass at him. "Was that the guy?" he hoped his tone sounded casual but from the way CJ smiled at him, he knew she could tell what he was really asking.

"Yes," she watched Josh's face as he studied Scott across the room.

"I guess you were right," he said pulling his eyes from Scott and focusing them on his drink. CJ had to fight the sudden urge to touch him.

"I prefer the guy I'm sitting next to," Josh lifted his head up to look at her, a small lopsided grin brightening his features.

"Who, Leo?" CJ laughed and Josh's grin widened at the sound. She briefly covered his hand with hers and gave him a gentle squeeze before removing it. He smiled and lifted an arm to drape it across the back of the sofa. She leaned back in her seat as Leo leaned over to talk to Josh and she rested her head slightly on Josh's arm. CJ looked across the room to see Abbey staring straight at her, a knowing smile on her lips. CJ looked away quickly and groaned inside. Abbey had just broken her own speedy record.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed...**

**Please leave a review or pm me, all comments are greatly appreciated! xxx**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello, all you wonderful people! **

**First of all, thank you to everyone that has left reviews and to those that sent encouraging messages, some very nice things said in them :D**

**Secondly, I'm so sorry for the massive gap between my updates but I hope this chapter was worth the wait. It mainly takes place during **_**Mandatory Minimums **_**and **_**Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics**_** but there are also a few little references for **_**Let Bartlet Be Bartlet.**_

**As always, a big thank you and a hug for Shae-Lynn1, awesome friend and beta! **

**Reviews make me happy so any comment and suggestions are welcome!**

**Happy reading...**

**Calliope Jae x**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Breathe Deeply**

Josh walked out of his office and turned out all the lights on his way. He threw his bag on his shoulder and made his way over to where Donna stood talking to Bonnie.

"You leaving?" Donna asked when she noticed him walking towards her.

"Yeah, I was just gonna say you could leave too," he smiled at Bonnie who said a quick goodnight to them both and caught up with Ginger who was coming out of one of the offices.

"Wait for me and I'll walk out with you."Josh nodded and Donna briskly walked to her desk to gather her things. Josh leant against the wall and watched Donna rush around, he let his mind wander to CJ and he wondered how she was doing. After her gaff in the briefing room last night she had become withdrawn and he hadn't had chance to talk to her before she went home tonight. He suddenly felt a presence beside him and he turned to look at who it was.

"Thinking about CJ?" Mandy crossed her arms and peered up at him. Josh stared at her for a few seconds before answering.

"Why would I be thinking about CJ?"

"That was quite the mistake she made in the briefing last night," she continued to stare at him and if the knowing look in her eyes was anything to go by she had heard about his relationship with the press secretary.

"Yeah, she fixed it today though," he tried to turn his attention away from her to end the conversation but Mandy seemed to have other things in mind.

"Do you realise what she..." Mandy started but Josh cut her off.

"She fixed it Mandy and she knows now what she did wrong. She's already had a grilling from Leo so she doesn't need the rest of us holding it over her head." He took a deep breath and made himself relax. All day he had been defending CJ and he knew she'd be angry if she found out. CJ hated people fighting her battles and she hated to appear like she couldn't handle things for herself.

"What's got you so defensive?" Mandy asked, a little smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth.

"Nothing." Josh shrugged his shoulders and glanced back at Donna who was now making her way towards them.

"You ready to go?" Donna asked as she stopped in front of them.

"Yeah, night Mandy." Josh brushed past Mandy and Donna followed him, giving Mandy a small smile. Donna waited until they were outside before speaking to her boss.

"What was that about?"

"I think she knows about CJ," Donna had to jog a little to catch up to him.

"CJ?"

"Me and CJ," he clarified. Donna nodded and pondered her thoughts carefully.

"What made you think that?" She asked, watching his face.

"Just the way she looked at me," he realised how stupid he sounded as soon as the words left his mouth. He stopped walking and turned to his assistant. "I mean..."

"I know what you mean," Donna said quickly. They stood together quietly for a few seconds before anyone spoke. "Will it be a problem?" Donna asked.

"I don't think so," he said looking down at his feet, "But Mandy can be..." He trailed off and lifted his head to look at Donna. She smiled knowingly at him and they both chuckled a little.

"CJ can handle anything Mandy throws at her, you know that." Donna pulled on his arm and they started to walk again.

"Have you..." he paused, "Have you heard anything about me and CJ?" Donna frowned at him and Josh rephrased the question. "I didn't tell Mandy about us and I'm pretty sure CJ didn't either, so I was wondering if you'd heard anything. You know, cause you know everything." Josh added and it made Donna smile.

"I do know everything but no I haven't heard anything. Maybe she just picked up on something, you know, maybe she's just got a hunch or whatever." Josh nodded and stopped walking again.

"I er..." he tilted his head toward another road and Donna realised their paths parted here.

"You're going to CJ's?" she asked.

"Yeah, er... thanks for, you know." Donna nodded enthusiastically.

"See you tomorrow and say hi to CJ for me," she gave him a small wave as he started to walk away from her. He shouted goodnight over his shoulder and she watched him for a few seconds. She could feel a familiar tightening in her chest but she still couldn't figure out what it meant. She stood there a little longer before tearing herself away from his retreating figure and making her way home.

-x-

CJ was sitting on her bed, towel drying her hair when Josh arrived. He called her name when he opened the door but she didn't respond. Her bedroom light was the only one on in her apartment so she knew he'd find his way to her eventually. She continued to lazily rub the towel through her hair and she closed her eyes, enjoying the repetitive movement.

"Hey," Josh's voice floated to her from the doorway but her eyes remained shut.

"I was called 'amateur' twice in 10 seconds today," her tone was dry and even though she opened her eyes she couldn't bring herself to look at him.

"By who?" He made his way towards the bed and sat down behind her. CJ stopped drying her hair and let the towel drop to the floor.

"First Leo," she took a deep sigh, "then Danny Concannon." Josh wasn't sure what to say. He reached a hand up to rub gentle circles across her back.

"You fixed it CJ, there's nothing to worry about." CJ let out a dry laugh and shrugged his hand from her back.

"Come on Josh, you know that isn't true." She slipped off the bed and pulled her robe tighter around her body.

"You spoke to the President?" He asked.

"Yeah, I apologized and he pretty much said it was forgotten. Something tells me that Leo isn't going to be so forgiving," she took off her robe and pulled a big t-shirt on over her head. It was incredibly short, barely reaching her upper thighs and for a second Josh forgot what he was talking about. He shook his head.

"Leo is..." Josh was distracted once again when CJ turned around to face him. "Is that my t-shirt?" He asked, tilting his head and letting his eyes wander over her body.

"Yes," she ignored his lustful eyes and ran a brush through her hair. He made his way over to stand behind her and brushed his fingers lightly over her neck.

"Listen, I think you..." CJ reached a hand to his and squeezed it softly.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," she made her way over to her bed, "I can handle Leo, I'm not worried." Josh didn't believe her

"Ok, we won't talk about it," he was a little angry that she closed herself off to him but he knew it was best to leave her alone right now.

"Josh," CJ could tell that he was angry but she was too exhausted to deal with it right now. "We can talk about it tomorrow," she promised him as she crawled into her bed. Josh stood at the end of her bed for a few seconds and watched her relax into the soft covers. He quickly undressed and turned out all the lights in the bedroom before joining her. He pulled her against him and brushed a few strands of her damp hair from her neck with his nose so he could plant a gentle kiss there. He felt her take in a deep breath and hold it in for a few seconds before releasing it slowly. He rubbed lazy circles over her stomach and he felt her relax a little against him. Josh could feel his anger subsiding, he knew how she was feeling and knew that if it were him, he'd be even worse than her. He wanted her to know he was here for her and even though she said she didn't want to talk about anything tonight, he decided to tell her anyway.

"I'm here, when you need me. I'll always be here." It was almost a whisper but he said it close to her ear to be sure she heard him clearly. She felt a familiar lump form at the back of her throat and a stinging behind her eyes but she pushed them away before the tell-tale signs would show themselves to Josh. She couldn't bring herself to say anything to him tonight, afraid her unruly emotions would get the better of her, instead she brought a hand to his. She laced her fingers with the ones that were still drawing patterns on her stomach and squeezed them hard. She felt Josh place several small kisses along her shoulder blades then settle down behind her.

CJ lay there in the dark, exhaustion was set deep in her bones but for some reason sleep wouldn't come. She listened to Josh breathing soundly behind her and waited until she heard the shallow breathing that signalled sleep before turning around to face him. She studied his face while he slept and she knew she was safe here. She swallowed deeply and took in a quick breath before she allowed herself to do the thing she'd been denying herself all day.

She let the tears fall.

And they kept falling. She snuggled herself into Josh's body and lifted one of his arms over her shoulders in a sort of hug. She pressed her face into his chest. Josh opened his eyes a little but stayed completely still, he didn't want to scare her. He listened to her cry quietly and his arms ached to fold themselves around her slight body. He closed his eyes again but he didn't allow sleep to come, he wanted to make sure she was ok and if he had to pretend to be a sleep to do so, then that's exactly what he'd do. And although CJ was unaware of it, Josh stayed up with her most of the night and only once he was sure she was sleeping did he permit himself to sleep too.

-x-

**Tuesday morning: 10 hours into polling**

A few weeks later Josh walked into the West Wing at 7am and headed towards his office. He placed his bag and coat on his desk and realised the door to CJ's office was open. He peeked around the door frame and saw her hunched over her desk; it had become a familiar sight these past weeks. She shuffled angrily through some of the papers and scribbled something out on one of them. Josh quickly ducked back into his office before she saw him and jogged towards the coffee stand in the bullpen.

"Josh, Toby wants to see you after senior staff," Donna joined him at the coffee stand and placed a pastry on a plate that she handed to him.

"Yeah, he called me on my way in. Could you put that on my desk?" She nodded and waited for him to pour coffee into two cups before walking to his office with him. Josh waited for Donna to leave before slipping into CJ's office. He walked over to her desk and placed the cup on her desk. CJ's head shot up quickly, surprise evident on her face. She let out an uneven sigh and closed her eyes for a second.

"You scared me," she said leaning back into her chair.

"Thought you could use some coffee," he walked around to her side of the desk and leant against it. She smiled up at him and reached for the cup, taking a long drink. He was silent for a few minutes while he watched her drink. "Did you get much sleep last night?"

"A little," she paused, "Enough." Josh frowned at her response and he knew she was lying. He could tell from the way her body slouched slightly in her chair that she had barely slept last night.

"You need to give yourself a break CJ," she let out a dry laugh.

"That's not what I need right now. What I need is the report on these polling numbers."

"We still have 35 hours to go CJ," he brushed his fingers over her cheek softly and she leant into it slightly. She gave herself a few seconds to enjoy the comfort he was offering before pulling herself together. She sat up straight in her chair and shoved some papers into a folder.

"Listen, I have to go over to the residence to talk to the President but would you like to get some lunch?" Josh brightened at her words, they hadn't really had chance to spend any time together lately and he knew CJ was trying to make up for all the times she had banned him from her place.

"Yeah, sure. You wanna go out or...?" They both stood up and Josh walked with CJ to her door.

"The mess is fine, I just feel like I haven't seen you much." Josh nodded and smiled at her. "I know it's my fault so I…" Josh shook his head and interrupted her before she could say anything else.

"It's no one's fault Ceej, we've both been busy. Comes with the job," he smiled and resisted the urge to kiss her right there in the doorway. She smiled back and let out a small sigh, relieved that he was being so understanding.

"I'll see you later," she said as she walked towards the residence to meet with the President. On her way she thought a little about Josh, she couldn't believe how accommodating he was being with her. Especially after the way she had been treating him, she had even refused him entry to her apartment on a number of occasions, using her heavy workload as an excuse. She had taken all her frustration and anger out on him and yet here he was. Still standing right beside her, waiting for her to come to him, never pushing or questioning, just quietly supporting. She could feel a lump forming in the back of her throat and she was suddenly hit with a full blown wave of guilt at the thought. As she entered the residence she made a mental promise to make it up to him then shook all her thoughts from her mind. She knocked lightly on the President's bedroom door and waited for him to answer the door.

"Good morning, Claudia Jean," Jed walked back into the room and CJ followed him wishing him a good morning as she did.

-x-

That night Josh made his way back to the polling centre with four cups of coffee and a tea in hand. He opened the door to find Joey, Kenny and Mandy deep in conversation. He glanced around the room as he put the cups down and noticed there was some one missing that had been there before he left.

"Where's CJ?" He asked as everyone reached for their drinks.

"I think she stepped outside for a minute," Kenny said quietly.

"Thanks, Kenny." Josh grabbed the tea and one of the coffees and made his way back outside to look for CJ. He walked down the corridor towards the back fire exit and turned around a corner where the stairs to the first floor were. He stopped in front of them and gazed down at the figure sitting on the steps.

"How's it going?" Josh remained where he was, thinking right now it would be better to give her some space.

"Is that coffee?" She asked eyeing the styrofoam cups in his hand. Josh chuckled and looked down at the cups.

"Yeah, but I thought you might have had enough coffee for today, so I brought you a tea instead." Her eyes reached his and Josh shrugged his shoulders. "I'll let you have the coffee if you'll let me take you home," he walked slowly towards her, twirling the coffee in the air as if trying to tempt her.

"How about you give me the coffee and I'll let you walk me back to the polling bank?" She tilted her head to the side and shuffled over a little to let Josh sit next to her.

"Sorry, I'm not willing to negotiate terms, it's take it or leave it I'm afraid." He held the two cups up in front of him and waited for CJ to make a decision.

"I guess I'll have the tea then," she held her hand out towards him and he sighed.

"Ok, you win," he handed her the coffee and he was pleased to hear her laugh a little. They were silent for a few seconds and Josh watched CJ carefully out of the corner of his eye. Finally she spoke up.

"Leo didn't tell the President about my predictions."

"That bothers you?" He asked frowning a little and CJ shrugged her shoulders.

"I just think it's strange that he didn't mention it to him, that's all."

"Don't you think that maybe you're…"

"Reading too much into it?" CJ finished his sentence for him when he paused to consider his words. He inclined his head and looked down at the cup in his hands.

"Maybe," he said quietly.

"That's pretty much what Leo said." She pulled her knees into her chest with one arm and rested her head on them. She waited a moment before speaking again. "You know, Danny brought up Mandy's memo."

"Yeah?" Josh wasn't sure what to say but he watched CJ nod her head a little and chew on the inside of her mouth.

"He asked if you all blame me for the memo."

"You know we don't," he placed a gentle hand on her back. CJ gave a small sarcastic laugh at his comment but didn't say anything. "We don't CJ, Mandy should have told us…" She looked up into his eyes.

"No. We should have asked her, we should have known and he was right," she brushed a hand through her hair and looked away. "I let you down."

"Is that what you think?" Josh asked incredulously, he tried to get her to look at him again but she brushed his hands away and stood up. Josh knew she was going to walk away from him, from this conversation but he wouldn't let her. He stood too and grabbed her hand.

"CJ please..."

"I'm going to check in." She tugged her hand away from him but Josh stepped in front of her.

"Let me take you home CJ, you need to sleep." She kept her gaze on the floor and Josh took hold of her chin, bringing her face up to his. He looked into her eyes and he could see just how tired she was. "CJ..." She nodded reluctantly.

"Let me check in one last time."

"Sure," they walked back to the phone bank and Josh waited by the door as CJ walked over to Joey, Kenny and Mandy. She talked with them for a few minutes before she started to gather her belongings. As CJ started to walk away Joey reached out an arm and caught CJ's elbow, she signed something that Kenny interpreted and CJ smiled. Josh saw CJ sign 'thank you' to Joey and she gave her arm a quick squeeze.

"What was that about?" Josh asked when CJ approached him.

"Nothing," she gave him a weak smile that told him it was nothing to worry about. He nodded and took her coat from her hands.

"You ready to go?" She nodded and he helped her into her coat. As they were about to leave Josh looked up to see Mandy watching them closely, she turned away quickly as their eyes met for a second and Josh guided CJ out of the building.

About 40 minutes later Josh parked his car at the back of CJ's apartment. She had been quiet on the drive over, only giving him one word answers to his questions and slight smiles to his silly jokes. When they reached her front door Josh leaned against the wall as she fished inside her bag for her keys.

"You staying?" She asked, opening the door and stepping inside.

"Do you want me to?" He stayed at the door, not wanting to assume that he would be allowed.

"Yes." Her voice was submissive and the sound of it pulled at the corners of Josh's heart.

"Do you want to talk some more?" He took tentative steps toward her.

"No."

"CJ…"

"I don't know what else there is to say," she shrugged out of her coat and perched on the arm of her sofa. She pinched the bridge of her nose, letting her eyes close. Suddenly she let out a laugh, "You were right, I need to sleep." Josh walked over to her and kissed the top of her head.

"Go to bed."

"Are you coming?" she asked, taking hold of his hand and kissing the back of it.

"Yeah, I'll be right there," he leant down and placed a kiss on her lips. She smiled up at him before standing and making her way into her bedroom. She quickly changed into an old set of pyjamas and disappeared into the bathroom. When she emerged a little while later Josh was sitting on the end of her bed, he looked up when he heard the door open and he held his arms open to her. She made her way over to him and sat next to him, allowing him to wrap his arms around her securely. CJ let out a contented sigh and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Get into bed, I'll be right there." He placed a tender kiss on her temple and pushed her towards the top of the bed, she chuckled slightly when he tapped her ass affectionately.

Slipping under the covers CJ could feel the effects of the last few weeks finally taking over her body. She could feel the exhaustion deep in her bones and she wondered if she'd ever feel normal again. She closed her eyes and snuggled down into the covers; she pulled her knees into her chest and was happy when the mattress dipped and Josh curled his body against hers. He kissed her shoulder, sending jolts of pleasure down her spine and whispered good night.

CJ smiled and allowed herself to relax into the warmth surrounding her, trying to forget everything as she concentrated on her breathing. Suddenly Josh bolted up as the house phone began ring, he answered it quickly and CJ dug further into the covers not wanting to know who it was or what it was about.

"Yeah?" Josh asked into the receiver.

"Josh?" The voice sounded a little surprised to hear Josh answer the phone.

"Hey Sam, what's up?"

"I need to talk to CJ," Josh turned to look at CJ and she let out a low growl, she just wanted to be left alone. Josh understood without having to ask and turned back to talk to Sam.

"Can it wait?"

"Could you tell her she's my first phone call?" Josh frowned, confused by the phrase but leant over to CJ anyway. He lifted the covers to see her curled up in a ball and she let out another groan.

"He told me to say 'you're his first phone call'," he gave her an amused look but CJ's head snapped up.

"What!" She scrambled out from under the covers and snatched the phone out of Josh's hand and Josh quickly moved out of her way._ "_Sam? What happened?"

"God, CJ I think... I'm not sure what happened," Sam's panicked voice floated to CJ and she felt her stomach churn slightly at the sound.

"Sam?"

"We were just... I think some one... CJ?" He took a shaky breath and she heard someone in the background trying to talk to him.

"Sam, you're not making any sense."

"I went to see Lori." CJ closed her eyes and shook her head. "I think someone might have seen us. What should I do?"

"Oh, Sam." She said quietly, wishing that this wasn't happening now on top of everything else. Josh sat behind CJ trying to listen to what was going on. He could tell from the look on her face that it was something bad and he knew if it was Sam, then it might have something to do with the call girl too. "Is Lori with you?"

"Yeah, she's right here."

"Tell her to go home and keep her head down for a while." CJ tried to keep her voice calm even though her gut was tying itself into tight knots.

"Ok, should I come into the office?" The sound of CJ's voice had calmed Sam's alarmed mind.

"Yeah, I'll be right there." She stood up from the bed and rushed to her closet and started pulling out clothes.

"I'm sorry, CJ," he said quietly. He felt terrible for what he'd done to her and he knew that no matter what he did, she'd be blamed if this situation hit the papers tomorrow.

"No Sam, you did the right thing."

"I shouldn't have been here." CJ shook her head and rubbed a hand over her tired eyes.

"Sam, it's ok, we'll sort this out. Meet me in my office as soon as you can." She hung up the phone after Sam promised he'd be right over and started to get dressed. Josh's eyes followed her around the room.

"Can't it wait?" It was an unnecessary question and he knew it, but he was worried about her.

"No Josh, it really can't. You know that." CJ pulled her shoes on and ran her fingers threw her hair to neaten it a little.

"Is there anything I can do?" He asked weakly.

"Keep the bed warm for when I get back." CJ gave him a small smile and they shared a short kiss, she glanced back at him as she left the bedroom and they both knew she wouldn't be returning to her apartment tonight.

-x-

**Wednesday Night: Polling Complete**

CJ made her way back to her office and she couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. Carol was waiting for her when she arrived, sporting a small grin that matched CJ's. They high-fived as they passed each other and CJ collapsed onto her sofa. She bit her lower lip trying to control the bubble of excitement threatening to explode from her chest but she still couldn't wipe away the smile. There was a knock at the door and she looked up to see Toby standing there watching her.

"Tonight was a good night," he said quietly.

"A very good night."

"9 points."

"9 points," she nodded her head, grinning.

"We're going for a drink at The Red Room, are you coming?" Toby smiled at the look on CJ's face.

"I suppose one drink couldn't hurt, right?" She stood up and Toby helped her into her coat and he handed her, her bag. He put his hand on her lower back and CJ glanced at him over her shoulder. They shared a quick meaningful look that spoke more than words and CJ let out a small laugh as Toby led her towards the lobby. Sam and Josh were already there waiting for them.

"Drinks?" Sam asked, smiling broadly.

"Hell yeah!" CJ exclaimed. Sam laughed and threw his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him as they left the White House.

They arrived at The Red Room about 20 minutes later; they found the only empty table near the busy dance floor and seated themselves around it. Josh offered to get the first round and he quickly took everyone's order before going to the bar. CJ sat down and took off her coat, she looked up as Toby walked over to her.

"Come dance with me," he reached for her hand and she allowed him to pull her onto the dance floor.

Josh made his way back to the table with a tray of drinks and set them down in the centre of the table to allow everyone to get their own drink. He looked around for CJ and saw her dancing gleefully. Toby was spinning her around and she was laughing wholeheartedly, her head was thrown back and her cheeks were flushed. Josh smiled as he watched her, he was thankful that she seemed so much happier now, almost freer than she had in the previous weeks.

"Things seem to be going well with CJ," Sam said, he was also watching CJ and Toby dance but his eyes flickered to Josh's face every now and then.

"Yeah," Josh nodded, "Things are really good." He turned to look at Sam and they shared a cheerful grin. They sat in silence for a while until a familiar song came on and Sam quickly sat up straight.

"Remember this from the campaign?" Sam asked, excitement in his voice.

"Yeah!" Josh laughed and looked towards CJ and Toby. CJ beckoned them over to dance with them and before Josh could even stand up Sam had bounded over like a child on a sugar high. He grabbed one of CJ's hands and started to dance like no one was watching. CJ was laughing hard and she looked over at Josh who was still at the table. He stood up and turned his back to the dance floor while he took off his coat and jacket. He suddenly felt an arm slide over his shoulder and down his chest, he turned his head to the side and felt a warm breath on his neck, making him shudder pleasantly.

"Come dance with us!" CJ breathed into his ear. He turned around and she took hold of his hand, then led him towards Sam and Toby. They danced in a circle, their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders and they were laughing.

CJ was on top of the world and it no longer felt like it was caving in on top of her. She glanced at Josh and their eyes locked, she smiled at him and he kissed her temple, making her smile widen. She gazed around at the people she loved in front of her as they danced and she knew that nothing, absolutely nothing, could ruin the joyful mood she was in right now.

**

* * *

**

**Hope you enjoyed it! **

**Only one chapter left for Fools in Love then on to series 2!**

**Please leave a review or pm me, all comments are greatly appreciated! xxx**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello my wonderful people! So here's the last chapter in this series and I hope you enjoy it. Big spoilers for **_**What Kind of Day Has it Been? **_**But I guess that's pretty obvious, ha. **

**Anyway, a big thank you to my amazing friend and beta Shae-Lynn1, you made this story so much better and I couldn't have done it without you. Love ya!**

**Also, thank you to all the people that have been following this story, I write for you and I thank you for all the amazing reviews you have sent me. I appreciate it all. **

**So enjoy the chapter and keep a look out for the next story in the series :D **

**Calliope Jae x**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Hold on**

**The Newseum**

**Rosslyn, Virginia **

"Toby!" CJ ran down the steps of the Newseum to join Toby and Josh, who had turned and were waiting for her. She gave Toby a hug. "It landed, have you spoke to David yet?" She asked, as they continued to walk slightly behind the President and his entourage.

"Not yet, I er... I called Penny to make sure she knew he was, you know, safe. I'll call David later." CJ fixed Toby with a stare and he chuckled. "I will, I'll call him first thing tomorrow."

"Toby!" The President called back to him and Toby ran forward. Josh slapped him on the back as he went and Toby grinned. Josh turned to look at CJ and he took hold of her hand.

"It's been a good night, hasn't it?" He asked her, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

"It has and it's only going to get better," she winked at him and jogged to catch up with the President, a big smile on her face. Josh grinned and put his hands on his hips. He looked down towards his belt and noticed his pager was missing. He thought back to when he'd last had it and cursed; he must have left it inside.

"CJ!" He had to shout over the loud cheering of Bartlet's faithful followers but it seemed she still hadn't heard. He saw Sam walking just behind her and he reached out to tap him on the shoulder. "Sam!"

"What's up?" Sam had turned to look at Josh and he bowed his head so Josh could speak into his ear.

"I left my pager inside, tell CJ to have the car wait for me." Sam nodded to show him that he'd understood. Josh gave him a thumbs up and turned towards the Newseum. As he was running back up the stairs, taking two at a time, he heard someone shout something behind him. He turned back to look at the crowd when he suddenly heard a loud crack sound through the air. Everything seemed to slow down for Josh and after what seemed like an eternity there was another crack and then another one. All of a sudden he realised what had been shouted.

GUN!

Everything seemed to come rushing into action as the crowd dispersed and ran for cover, more gunshots rang in his ears and he ran to the fence to try to see what was going on. People pushed passed him as he tried to make his way back to his friends but as he ran towards the stairs, he felt something hit him and he stumbled. His hands shot out to catch himself on the wall near the stairs but he was knocked back when a man banged into him carrying a crying child in his arms. Josh fell to the floor feeling stunned and there was more gunfire, creating an odd ringing in his head.

He heard a woman scream loudly over all the noise and Josh thought of CJ. He suddenly had a renewed sense of energy as he tried to get up, the only thing on his mind was finding CJ but he couldn't get his legs underneath him. He held onto the wall as he tried to push himself up but his legs once again gave out and he collapsed, pain shooting through his torso. He coughed and the pain increased, this time his hands shot to his ribs instinctively and he was confused at the warm sticky substance he found there. He looked down at his hands and felt his breath catch in his throat.

"CJ..."

-x-

**Josh's apartment: the night before**

"CJ..." Josh trailed his tongue along her collarbone and she moaned into his neck. He was sat with his back against the headboard and CJ was straddling his hips, moving on him with slow deliberate strokes. He hugged her naked body to him tightly and buried his head between her breasts, his breathing deep and rough. "You're killing me," he laughed huskily and CJ smiled at the sound of his muffled voice.

"Is this not what you want?" She asked, biting her bottom lip and rolling her hips. He groaned and lifted his head to look at her face.

"I think you know what I want," he kissed her hungrily and she returned it with equal energy. While he was busy concentrating on her lips, CJ took hold of the headboard and started a quicker pace. Josh pulled back from her mouth and sucked in a deep breath. "Ah, CJ..."

"Be careful what you ask for, Joshua," she winked at him and Josh let his head roll back but he kept his eyes on her. There was nothing he found more arousing than watching CJ when she was in control.

Josh moved his hands to her hips and gripped them tightly, helping her keep the fast pace she had set. CJ leaned forward slightly and he took the opportunity to take one of her nipples into his mouth, he sucked it hard and enjoyed the way she pushed into him slightly. Josh tangled a hand into her hair and pulled her head back gently so he could lick his way to her neck. CJ hummed in the back of her throat and he could feel the vibrations on his tongue. She quickened her pace even more and Josh folded his arms around her waist as he thrust up into her.

"Josh, I'm so close..." At the change in speed Josh could feel the familiar tightening begin, making him thrust harder. CJ let her head fall forwards so their foreheads were touching and she suddenly tensed in his arms. "Josh!" Her movement faltered as she came and Josh returned his hands to her hips helping her keep the steady rhythm.

"Ahhh!" He felt himself explode into her and he held her hips down as he recovered. Josh collapsed back and let out a satisfied sigh. CJ ran her hands over his chest and he pulled her towards him so she was lying on his chest. He kissed the top of her head and ran his hands over the damp skin of her back; they were silent as they allowed their breathing to return back to normal.

"I can't feel my legs anymore," CJ said with a small chuckle.

"Here," Josh helped her lift up slightly so she could sit in between his legs and rest her back on his chest. "Better?" He asked wrapping his arms around her.

"Much," she pulled the sheets up over their legs and snuggled against him. After a few minutes of silence CJ spoke up again.

"I had a strange conversation with my dad today."

"Yeah?" He kissed the side of her head and CJ hesitated for a few seconds, wondering if this was really the right time to bring it up. "Is he ok?" Josh prompted her to continue.

"Yeah, he's fine. It was just something he said... or maybe it should be 'didn't say'." Josh frowned.

"Like what?"

"He couldn't remember my mother's name." Josh paused.

"Molly's?" Even as he asked he knew he was wrong.

"No, my mother Josh. My mother, his high-school sweetheart..." she ran a hand through her hair trying to get her emotions in order. "He couldn't remember her name." Josh wasn't sure what to say, what comment could he have that would make this situation any better?

"Has he done this before?"

"No. It was only for split second but..." she closed her eyes and thought back to the conversation with her dad.

_CJ was rooting through her bag for her keys when she heard the house phone ringing. She cursed but managed to pull out her keys and run into her apartment, she reached the phone just as it had switched to speaker phone._

"_Hello?" She was a little out of breath when she answered._

"_Claudia Jean, I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time." CJ smiled._

"_No daddy, I just got in from work. Your timing couldn't have been better." She shrugged out of her coat, juggling the phone to keep it at her ear. "How are you?"_

"_Absolutely fine, how are you darling?"_

"_I'm fine," she flopped down on her sofa and kicked off her shoes._

"_How's work?"_

"_Busy."_

"_And Josh?"_

"_Even busier but he's good."_

"_That's wonderful to hear." _

"_Yeah, I'm going over to his apartment tonight for dinner. I'd like the two of you to spend some more time together when you next get chance to visit." She pulled her legs underneath her and settled back into the cushions._

"_Well actually that's what I'm calling about. Molly and I are coming to stay in DC for a few days." CJ smiled, looking forward to the thought of spending some time with her dad._

"_That's great, when are you coming?" _

"_In two weeks. Molly booked us into the... the..." he paused and CJ waited for him to continue. "Dang... you know the place. I always stay there, the bed and breakfast place." CJ frowned as she listened to her dad muttering on the other end._

"_The Capitol Hill townhouse, daddy."_

"_That's the one!" He paused after his exclamation. "Are you sure that's the name?" _

"_Yes," she chuckled nervously at her father's odd behaviour, "It's where you and Molly always stay."_

"_Yes well, we're staying there."_

"_How long for?" CJ asked, she picked up her diary from her bag and flicked through to get an idea of what she would be doing in two weeks time._

"_Just a week, we wanted to see everyone but especially you, CJ. I haven't seen you since Christmas. Of course we tune in for your briefings... which reminds me, Molly said you've lost weight and that you need to eat better." CJ rolled her eyes. "Needless to say we'll be returning to Dayton so I can visit Marion's grave. You haven't forgotten, have you?" _

"_Who's Marion?" Thinking that perhaps an old family friend had died, CJ felt bad about not remembering the name and person._

"_Marion! The woman that raised you and your brothers." CJ froze as she was still looking through her diary. She couldn't find any words to describe her confusion at that moment and she felt tears sting the back of her eyes._

"_Daddy... mom's name was Lydia."_

"_What?"_

"_Her name was Lydia." CJ swallowed back her tears as Tal went quiet._

"_Of course it was," he sounded morose and CJ could feel a million emotions spreading through her body._

"_Dad, are you ok?"_

"_I'm fine Claudia Jean, why do you ask?" He sounded to CJ as if the last few minutes hadn't happened and it left her feeling lost._

"_No reason," she said quickly._

"_Ok, well Molly has my dinner ready so I ought to go. Take care of yourself sweetheart and say hello to Josh for me."_

"_I will, I love you daddy," she still wasn't sure what had happened but Tal seemed perfectly fine now._

"_I love you too, Jeannie." And with that he hung up, leaving CJ speechless._

"I thought your dad didn't call you that," Josh said, after she finished telling him what had happened.

"He doesn't, he stopped when mom died." She went quiet and Josh hugged her tighter, still unsure of what to say. "You know, maybe I'm reading too much into this. I know he's been under a lot of stress lately and maybe it's all just getting to him." She tuned to look at Josh properly, a hopeful expression crossing her face. "This doesn't mean anything, right?" Josh looked into her eyes and shook his head.

"No and I think you might be right," he ignored the funny feeling that made him think there was something to her father's funny behaviour and continued. "Maybe things have become a little too heavy, it's happened to us all, hasn't it?" He kissed her cheek softly and CJ chuckled thinking of all the things she'd forgotten in the past due to stress.

"You're right," she seemed to have picked herself up and she smiled at him feeling a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry I brought this up now, you know, after sex and everything."

"If we can't talk like this, even after sex, then there's something wrong," he nudged her shoulder and smiled. "You have nothing to apologise for."

"Thanks," she kissed him soundly and Josh patted the bed next to him.

"You should get some sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow."

"Yeah," she settled down next to Josh, who was on his back and rested her head on his chest. Josh played with her hair as she settled down and waited for her to fall asleep before allowing himself to join her.

-x-

**The next morning**

Josh woke to the sound of an alarm. He groaned when he looked at the time, 5am! It was the only drawback to spending the night with CJ, she always got up unnecessarily early. He wrapped his arm tighter around her waist when she tried to get out of bed and pulled her back to him.

"Stay," he asked, his voice slightly muffled from his head being buried between her shoulder blades.

"I need to shower, Josh, go back to sleep." She tried once again to sit up but this time Josh pinned her to the bed and climbed on top of her. He leant forward to nibble on the soft skin at her neck and let his hands wander over her body. CJ planted her hands firmly on his chest and pushed him away. Josh rolled over onto his back and covered his face with an arm, letting out a low groan.

"Just so you know, this is cruel." CJ turned back to look at him and smiled.

"Maybe you should start your own foundation, you know like, The Prevention of Cruelty to Josh Lyman." She pulled on a sweater and a pair of shorts and slipped into her fuzzy slippers. Josh rolled his eyes, his arm still over his head. It was far too early for this kind of torment. He grabbed a pillow from behind his head and threw it at her without really knowing where she was. "Just so you know, I'm on the other side of the room." CJ chuckled and left the room quickly before he could throw anything else at her.

Twenty minutes later CJ emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped round her hair. She'd changed back into her sweater and shorts and was once again wearing her fuzzy slippers. She slowly made her way to the kitchen where she found Josh standing in front of the stove.

"Morning," she stepped up to him and looked over his shoulder into the pan he was cooking with. "Scrambled egg!" Josh laughed and passed her an empty cup with his free hand.

"I also have bacon and toast over there, help yourself and I'll have the eggs ready in a minute." CJ grabbed a plate and helped herself to the food and a fresh cup of coffee. She jumped up onto the counter and dug into her delicious-smelling food.

"How are you feeling today?" Josh asked as he spooned scrambled eggs onto her plate.

"I'm fine," she said, smiling.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, not looking forward to this morning though." Josh leaned against the counter as he started to eat his own food.

"The town hall prep? Why?"

"Because he's going to mock me all through it."

"The President?"

"Who else?" Josh laughed and CJ kicked him gently with her foot. "It's not funny!"

"You are very thorough when you're prepping someone for something like this."

"Yeah, but you can't tell me it hasn't saved your ass more than a few times," she gave him a pointed look and he shrugged his shoulder. "Can you tell me what happened the last time you didn't listen to my advice?"

"Which time?"

"Exactly," she grinned smugly and Josh rolled his eyes. Ok, he'd walked right into that one. He put the last piece of bacon in his mouth and drained his coffee.

"I have to shower, wanna join me?" He swaggered over to CJ but she pushed him away.

"If you'd gotten out of bed when I did then there might have been a chance but now I have work to do." She jumped down from the counter and put the dishes in the sink to be washed later. Josh made a face but CJ ignored him and went to sit at his desk. While he begrudgingly went to take a shower, CJ checked the early morning wires. A little while later, that was where Josh found her, he tightened the towel around his hips and ran a hand over her shoulders as he passed her.

"Anything new?" He asked from his bedroom.

"Nothing that's going to cause us any trouble," CJ entered the bedroom too and started to get changed. "I'm going to head in, I need to meet with my staff about the prep so I'll see you there." Josh nodded and he watched her get dressed.

"See something you like?" She asked, fastening her pants and slipping on her blue shirt.

"Yes, but you're covering it all up. I think we should do something about that," he crawled across the bed to get to her but she backed away.

"Josh, stop it." She batted his hands away playfully.

"You'll regret this if I get hit by a bus on my way to work," he pouted, his lip in a child like fashion and CJ chuckled.

"If you get hit by a bus then I'll give you anything you want."

"That's not going to be much use to me if I'm strapped to a hospital bed." CJ walked over to him and kissed him.

"Yeah but think of all the things we can do with those straps..." she winked as she walked away from him and Josh shook his head to rid his thoughts of any images involving CJ and straps. "See you later."

"Yeah," Josh remained where he was standing for a while, seriously thinking about starting The Prevention of Cruelty to Josh Lyman foundation.

-x-

**CJ's office.**

That afternoon CJ walked into her office to see Josh sitting behind her desk and working at her laptop. He had files and memos all over her desk and she stood in her doorway, a frown on her face as she surveyed her office.

"Did I miss something?" She asked.

"Hmmm?" Josh was reading something and CJ knew he wasn't really listening to her.

"Is this your office now?"

"What?" Josh finally lifted his head and saw CJ looking at him. "Oh, er... no. I don't have a chair." He went back to his work and CJ peeked into his office through their adjoining door.

"What happened to it?"

"Donna sent it to the shop to be fixed."

"We have a shop? I thought it was just Robby and his team downstairs," she leant against her desk and accidently moved some of the papers on it. Josh grumbled quietly and impatiently moved his work.

"It is."

"So we have a shop now?" CJ asked. She knew she was irritating him but she was rather enjoying it.

"No."

"Why are you in my office?" She asked after a few seconds.

"Because I don't have a chair," he looked up at CJ as if she'd lost her mind.

"So find another one and get out of mine."

"But..." he indicated to all the paper in front of him, "I have work to do."

"Well, so do I and seeing as though this is my office, I get first priority."

"I have important stuff to do." As soon as the words left his mouth he wished he could have put them back in. He looked up at CJ and she starred at him disbelievingly.

"And I don't?" She put her hands on her hips and Josh knew she was preparing to fight for her place.

"I didn't say that," he held his hands up as if to surrender and smiled. "I just meant that..."

"Josh, if you don't move your body from behind my desk then so help me..." Josh stood up quickly, recognising danger.

"Ok, ok." He quickly gathered his work and moved so CJ could sit down. "You know, it's nice to share."

"Yeah, I was never very good at sharing the things I really wanted." She smirked triumphantly. "Now go away." Josh lingered for a few seconds, his arms overflowing with papers.

"I'm going jogging," he said, hoping for a bit of sympathy from her but CJ didn't even look up from her work as she spoke.

"Have fun with that." Josh frowned at the underlying sound of enjoyment in that sentence and turned on his heel to find Donna. CJ laughed to herself when he left and when she looked up, she saw that Toby had replaced him in the doorway.

"Hey," he said, quietly.

"Toby, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing." CJ paused, giving him time to continue but it soon became clear that he wasn't going to.

"So... you're blocking my doorway because...?"

"I thought I'd supply you with something nice to look at," he made his way into her office and sat down on her sofa.

"Well, that's great and as much as I enjoy looking at you, I have things to do." She returned to her work but Toby stayed where he was and after a few seconds he took a deep breath.

"I forgot David was up there." CJ glanced up at him. "I didn't... I didn't know they'd..."

"Toby?"

"They kept switching the dates and then something happened and they..." he trailed off and stared at his hands as if they held answers.

"He'll be ok, David is always..." Toby scoffed and shook his head.

"You don't know that."

"No but I know David and I know that he..."

"He's not the same man he was 15 years ago, Jeannie," he rubbed a hand across the back of his head and let out a big breath.

"What happened?" CJ asked after a little while.

"I'm not sure, something to do with the bay door."

"That's not what I was asking," she said softly.

"I know," he cleared his throat. "It's complicated."

"He's your brother..." Toby stood up angrily and CJ stopped talking.

"Yes, I'm aware of our connection, CJ. Thank you." He took a few minutes to get himself under control. CJ didn't deserve his wrath, she was only trying to help and after all, he had gone to her. "There's just a lot you don't understand," he said at last.

"It doesn't matter Toby. This is your family and family is the one thing that will always be there, you stick by each other and you look after each other but most of all... you forgive each other. What ever happened between you and David, it's not worth fighting over, it's not worth giving up that wonderful friendship you always had." She took a deep breath and Toby was quiet while he mulled her words over in his head.

"I need to talk to Sam," he said abruptly.

"Ok." CJ looked up at him with wide surprised eyes. Toby walked to the door and hovered there for a second before turning back.

"Jeannie?"

"Yeah?" Toby gave her a small smile.

"Thanks," and with that, he left CJ to her work and made his way to his office.

-x-

**Town Hall Meeting**

**The Newseum**

"Do it again." Josh was standing underneath the walkway bridge inside The Newseum looking up at Sam, who was above him.

"Are you going to catch it this time?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, come on, do it again," Josh clapped his hands, bent his knees to give him a steady stance and opened his mouth. Sam took a peanut from the packet in his hand and lined it up with Josh's mouth. Just as he dropped it, Josh heard a voice and he snapped his head around.

"What are you doing?" CJ was standing behind him. Josh opened his mouth to say something but the peanut hit his head. He looked up at Sam.

"I wasn't ready!"

"Yes you were, I dropped it then you moved. You missed it again!" Sam popped a nut into his own mouth and smirked at Josh.

"I hope you choke on that," Josh shouted up to Sam and CJ gently punched him in the arm.

"_You _could choke doing that," she crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a pointed look.

"I will not, I'm not a child CJ..."

"You could have fooled me."

"I'll have you know..."

"Bonnie said you wanted to see me?"

"Oh yeah," he gave her the 'signal' and she laughed.

"Please don't do that anymore."

"Do what?"

"That gesture," she did it herself and couldn't help laughing again.

"Why not?"

"Because you just look so ridiculous when you do," she rubbed a sympathetic hand over his arm and Josh frowned.

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing," she shook her head, still smiling. As she was about to leave to turned to Josh again, "And no more playing with the peanuts!"

"We're celebrating, we're having some fun." He looked up at Sam, who gave CJ a big grin.

"Yeah well, don't expect me to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre when things go wrong." She shook her head and as she turned away she heard Josh shouting up to Sam to try again.

After the President had finished the talk CJ and Sam made their way out of the building together, talking about Columbus.

"Have you spoken to Toby?" Sam asked, holding the door open for her.

"No, I haven't seen him yet. I bet he's relieved to hear the good news." Sam nodded.

"Sam?" Bonnie was standing behind him holding a phone and he signalled for CJ to go on without him.

"I'll see you down there," she said pointing in the direction of the motorcade. As she walked to the steps she saw Toby and Josh walking just behind the President's entourage and she jogged towards them.

"Toby!" She made her way down the steps and flung her arms around Toby's shoulders. She heard Josh chuckle behind her and they began to walk towards the motorcade. "It landed, have you spoke to David yet?"

"Not yet, I er... I called Penny to make sure she knew he was, you know, safe. I'll call David later." She fixed Toby with a stare and he chuckled. "I will, I'll call him first thing tomorrow."

"Toby!" The President called back to him and Toby ran forward. Josh slapped him on the back as he went and he grinned. CJ felt Josh take her hand and squeeze it gently.

"It's been a good night, hasn't it?" He asked her, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. She nodded and bit her lower lip.

"It has and it's only going to get better," she winked at him and enjoyed the mischievous look on his face. She laughed and gave him a smile before heading towards the President. By this time Sam had caught up with her and was standing behind her.

"He said he wasn't working the rope line." The two watched the President walk straight to the people and shake hands with as many as he could.

"And you believed him?" She gave Sam a doubtful look and he nodded.

"Yeah, that was a mistake." CJ laughed and went to supervise what was going on at the barriers. A few moments later Sam reappeared at her side.

"Josh has gone back for something, he said don't go without him."

"Ok," she continued to walk behind the President while keeping a watchful eye on the press when she heard Gina shout something.

"GUN!!!"

The first shot sped through the air and CJ saw Gina knock Charlie to the floor. She turned around to look for the President but he'd already disappeared. She felt ice cold terror flood through her body as an agent accidently ran into her and she reached out a hand to grab hold of something to stop her from falling.

All around her CJ could hear people screaming and she felt, more than saw, people running for cover but she couldn't move. Where was Josh? She turned around and tired to concentrate as she desperately searched the sea of faces for him. She took a few steps forward when someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her down to the ground. She felt something pull at her neck and she hit her head on the hard concrete as she landed. She felt glass shatter above her and as she tried to get up someone pushed her down again and she felt a body cover hers. The person now on top of her told her to keep still and she did as she was told.

She suddenly couldn't breathe and she wanted urgently to get away. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to take in a deep breath but found it difficult with the added weight on top of her. Panic over took her as she struggled against the arms holding her down.

"You have to stay down!" A frantic voice shouted in her ear but she couldn't stop her body, it seemed like it was acting on its own. "CJ!"

Her mind seemed to be going blank and when she opened her eyes there were black spots in her sight. She felt a dizzy wave pass over her and reached out to grip the hand of the person on top of her. Her last thought before she passed out was of Josh and she heard the voice again in her ear.

"It's going to be ok Ceej, we're going to be ok."

* * *

**Hope you guys have enjoyed this story as much I have enjoyed writing it – bring on the next one I say :P**

**Please leave a review or pm me, all comments are greatly appreciated! xxx**


End file.
